ROW II North of Epron - Keep North Spoliers Within

[Holien]

Right last post of the night, another good game with low tech forces and some choices to make.

H

AAR – North Of Epron

Holien vs Lopaka

An interesting map which captured the feel of the area. A small town at the rear of the map and only one road in to it. This goes down the centre of a marsh area and through a forest. The objective is three large flags towards the rear of the map. 1 each for the two artillery batteries and 1 for a HQ building in a central position. Plenty of buildings for the defender to use and this is going to be hard.

In terms of the approach to be taken this really funnels the attack down the road. There are two other approaches but they are labelled as being mined and with the wet conditions and chances of bogging the road is the only real way to go.

The German forces are two platoons (to begin with and a promise of a third) and several ½ tracks 20mm and 75mm armed. This looks to be a low-tech game. No tanks for me and I hope no tanks for the Allied player.

Well the attack is a platoon on the right and left of the road. HMG’s to suppress the suspected HMG position and then move the A/C’s up when I feel it is safe / they are needed.

I have two spotters with 16 rounds each of 120mm. I can see a building near the reported battery position on my right and take a gamble in getting the spotter to target wide that area. If the Guns are there and being towed by trucks then it might pay dividends. The artillery position on my left is beyond the woods so I send my other spotter with the group going that way, to do a similar job when I get a close enough LOS.

I have a couple of snipers and send one on my right flank to get a peak at what is beyond the fields and the other is sent through the woods to check the left flank out.

The action starts slowly and I manage to flush the HMG from the tall building by the road and at the edge of the forest. This had good LOS on my attack and I need to clear him before I reveal my ½ tracks. In the process my sniper on the left finds a minefield and I discover a Piat team skulking in the woods. On the right I hear truck noises and my arty lands roughly in the area. I do not know if it had any effect. I later discover that it nobbled one gun and a truck.

My sniper on the right sees an AC (no ID so it could be a Stuart to a Daimler) and buttons the T/C but takes fire in return and bugs out to cover.

Advancing down the middle I move an AC to crest a slight rise and help my Infantry attack the 1st row of buildings which have HMG’s in the second floor. This promptly dies from a 6pdr round and after some manuvering I manage to take out the gun. Several more piat teams are found and one takes out another of my A/C’s. I have lost a 20mm and 75mm A/c’s and I need to be more careful.

My platoon on the left moves to edge of the woods and I get a LOS to a building near the battery. Again I can hear trucks. This is where I nearly lose the game. I send a half squad out to the left and through a gap in some barbwire laid down near a heavy stone building and small woods.

This team gets to woods without drawing fire. Yippee I have found a hole. I order the rest of the platoon to rush through this gap. Bugger I have found an ambush as my men are stuck in the open. I lose two squads to this and only manage to extract the HQ and 4 men from the 3rd squad. My Zhreck team loses a man but is also saved.

I drop some rounds on the battery position and I see a plume of smoke rise. I guess from radio chatter that I have taken a 25pdr and truck. My attack down the road is doing a bit better and I manage to tag a couple of Un_ID vehicles. On the far right I see a counter attack is launched and this is just as I get my third platoon in ½ tracks. I unload the HQ and a crack section to deal with it. It turns out to be a White ½ track with a Piat team aboard. This is perhaps a foolhardy move as it is unsupported and is soon burning with dead crew and Piat team from a Faust into the side.

The HQ rejoins the other two squads which are now progressing down the main road with the remaining two A/C’s. I manage to get a foothold in the town and start exploiting it by bringing combined firepower onto the divided defenders. Several more of his A/C’s are taken and things seem to be going better apart from the stalled attack on the left.

Then his guns open up on the buildings I am in and I lose a ½ track, which has put his nose, a bit too far forwards. This is when I start to realise that not only does he have 25pdrs but for AA cover a couple of Bofors 40mm guns.

As things are looking bad I get a fourth platoon and a couple of green crewed Lynx’s. This will help but again I will have to be careful of Piats and those guns. I have no arty to take the guns out and I need to get within bayonet range.

I rush the new platoon to the town and jump the squads into the fray, working closely with one another I manage to skirt the guns LOS (on the whole) and bring devastating fire power to bear against his defenders. His BHQ was all by itself in a Heavy building and soon falls. Other squads just melt away and I get the feeling that his troops are pretty green.

On the left flank with the few rounds of 120 left I drop it on his defenders on the far left. These pull back and I rush the remaining HQ and depleted squad through a gap in the wire and over runs these men. This is out of the LOS of his platoon in that area. This platoon had re-located to defend against my central attack. Some of those squads made the mistake of getting onto the second floor of the light buildings and hence into the LOS of my 75mm ½ track and Puma.

I then move this depleted platoon around his far-left flank and over run a 25pdr. My Zhreck team helps in its demise and causes him to re-deploy a squad to deal with this threat. This opens up his defence and my troops in the centre exploit the hole and the whole pack of cards comes tumbling down.

I am desperate to rout his men before any reinforcements can arrive. I later read that this can never happen as the reinforcements will arrive no matter what. This sees me continue to apply maximum pressure on his men and I get a tad rash and lose the last 75mm ½ track, but by this stage his men are throwing up their arms.

In the centre there is no resistance and I consolidate my hold on the central flag. On the right his platoon defending there lose the HQ unit and collapse. I push my men round to the right of the guns through the light woods and rush the remaining guns. They fall prey to bayonets and the trucks try and flee off the map. To no avail my men grenade them and mow down the crews.

Auto surrender kicks in and my men can take a well-earned breather.

So is this a balanced game? My opponent says this is the first time in his life that he has auto surrender kick in on him and I feel a bit bad that I have run through him and finished the game well before the end time limit.

With that in mind I would say the Allies have a hard time of it here. Mind you when I looked at the possible set up for the Allied player I think I would have done a few things differently than Lopaka.

The Allies get a fair amount of wire and this really can act as a great force multiplier. While the Allied player gets pretty naff troops in his defence force there is two platoons and quite a few HMG’s and plenty of piats and numerous A/C’ All with HMG’s.

Lopaka failed to really co-ordinate his defence. Units were spread too far apart so that I could pick them off and his loss of the BHQ was criminal, you can not leave a unit like that all by itself with no sections nearby.

The use of the piats was also very poor as they were used by themselves without other infantry support. This meant that they died quickly. It perhaps would have been better to hang them back in support of the infantry defence.

Moving the guns was a difficult process and I think they might have been better deployed, however, my attack was so fast that I think I knocked him off balance and he gave up on the idea. Which is fair enough.

I feel that if only two of the flags are defended then the Allies have a chance. This would have meant hanging back with all the vehicles and using them to support the two platoons. Who knows if this would have worked, just me trying to offer another approach?

As for my attack, as always I get too adventurous and put my vehicle’s noses too far forward before truly checking out possible hiding places. The total loss of my platoon on the left was a silly mistake and all through the game I was pushing hard and fast and while this seemed to work I perhaps could have taken it slightly slower and saved more lives of my men.

The scenario offers good choices of attack and defence and plenty of tactical scope to do things differently. I enjoyed the low-tech aspect of it immensely and was wondering when the Allies would get Shermans showing up.

Result a Major victory to the Germans.

Germans ---------- Allied

95 (24) ---------- 223 (73)

------------------- 20 Captured

-------------------- 6 Mortars

----------- 11 Guns

4 Vehicles--------- 19 Vehicle

Men OK

81----------------- 29

Score

77----------------- 23

[mPisi]

Pretty much the same as Holien, at least in result. Probed ahead on both sides (figured the mines marking were just bluffs) with an infantry platoon on each side while pushing a little in the center. Got my butt kicked in the center by a very good 6-pndr, lost most of my offensive vehicles. Seeing his sides occupied by my infantry probes, got some fire on the gun and successfully pushed an armored column of two platoons in HTs past his defences and then scattered behind buildings around the crossroads, without loss. Grenadiers boiled out and soon had a bunch of trucks and guns wiped out. His defensive forces were now caught between enemies and wilted quickly, with the help of the 120mm arty. The advancing infantry probes broke into the town against the distracted defenders and soon knock out one battery of guns on the left. My Lynxes push through on the road and help take out the few armored defenders. About this point my opponent surrendered, citing disgust, final 85-15.

It was a tough one for the Allies, I thought my opponent had made a good showing with the defence before I was able to break into town, and I had enough losses that the score would be close to the median.

[ December 15, 2002, 10:56 PM: Message edited by: mPisi ]

[Frunze]

I got waxed as Germans in this one. My mistake was trying to make my main attacks up the two sides, which ended up separating my infantry from my armor.

On my left, I broke through, and was in position to attack the guns, but the guns themselves and a bit of infantry that was rushed into place broke that force up. I'd dropped my little bit of arty on 'em earlier, and I think maybe temporarily panicked some of 'em? Better timing, if my infantry'd arrived shortly after the arty, maybe I coulda done better.

Right push, with a couple halftracks along, did okay for a while, but eventually got stopped, one halftrack bogged, another immobilized by a gun, infantry running out of ammo.

I later made a push up the middle with my reinforcements, mostly the armor, and for a while contested the middle flag. Conclusion: my whole push shoulda been up the middle, cut the defenders in half, then take the sides one at a time. A little like others have described doing. Disadvantage is guns on both sides knocking down buildings, but they coulda been avoided.

[Treeburst155]

David "Stix" James brought you "North Of Epron". Thanks, Stix!!

Treeburst155 out.

[Holien]

Were there not some complaints about this from those playing this?

I thought I detected some coded messages about this game?

Was I wrong?

For me it was a good low tech game but perhaps balanced in favour of the Germans?

H

[ December 19, 2002, 05:22 PM: Message edited by: Holien ]

[Heavy Drop]

My experiences as the Germans pretty much mirrored those of Frunze, as does my final assessment of what I should have done.

Yes, Holien, I did/do have problems with this scenario and it is primarily centered on the mission briefing. According to the briefing, the Germans are conducting a raid against an Allied artillery position with associated support units.

During the setup it is made to appear that you have infiltrated to within objective rally point distance from the gun positions and must now move into final assualt positions through, over, or around woods, swamp, and hedgerows.

The very definition of a Raid implies surprise, shock, limited objectives, in-and-out fast. For this mission to meet that definition the German player should quietly make a final recon of enemy positions/defenses, pinpoint the objective(s), negotiate obstacles, move forces into final assault positions and then execute the raid violently and simultaneously, with overwhelming localized fire power.

If one follows doctrine and training -- versus gaming -- then a fair amount of time (10-15 turns) would be required to move into position and successfully initiate this raid. The problem, as I saw it, was that from turn one the Allied player is 'man handling' or moving guns out of the objective areas, reorganizing defenses, and shooting H&I fire with 500 meters of his perimeter. In other words, he is playing a game and knows that something is up, doesn't like the setup/situation he starts with, and sets immediately to change the parameters of the scenario.

My comment to the designer is that for such scenarios to work doctrinally, tactically, a way must be found to ensure that the objective forces cannot arbitrarily be moved or reorganized without some kind of trigger event. Something to put defender immediate reaction drills in motion and allow free play from that moment on.

That trigger could be contact (enemy seen, incoming fire, mine explosion), distance establish a line that if crossed the attackers are revealed), or time based (attack must take place before sunrise -- read turn 12 -- or force will be discovered) . . . . . I'm not sure which, if any, of these are plausible in scenario design but these are some very capable designers and I bet something can be done.

Does all this matter? Everyone will have their own opinion. My comments are based on my experiences and the way I enjoy playing. I like CM because it does promote the need for a basic understanding, and application, of doctrine and tactics -- as evidence by all the work that goes into physics and effects modeling of this game.

I have no problem with 'gaming' a scenario. It is, after all, just a game. I only ask that the designers thoroughly research and understand what the mission statement implies and work their magic accordingly. Bad intelligence, misfortune, etc. may all be part of the scenario design. These are always possible, and add spice to the experience -- when purposely designed into the scenario.

Thanks Stix for all your hard work. I do appreciate and applaud your selfless commitment to my addiction.

Friendly fire isn't

HD

[Kanonier Reichmann]

AAR vs Mick Oz in North of Epron

Let me say from the outset that I have a dislike of Attack style scenarios where the attacking force is marginal at best, to be able to take on the defender. In this particular battle I calculated at the end of it that the Germans had a force value of approx. 1,900 points (reducing the points a tad for the lack of salvo’s for the 2 x 120 mm FO’s) while pitted against an enemy force with an all up value of around 1,800. If one were to discount the value of the numerous trucks completely, the Allied force drops to about 1,500 however, one cannot ignore the fact that the trucks are quite valuable in being able to relocate the 25 lber’s away from their obvious initial placement site to enable a good defender to place them in advantageous cross-fire locations. This my shrewd opponent did and it paid off big time. When looking at the relative value therefore, you can see that the attacker only has a force advantage of approximately 27% at best, in a full on attack style scenario. Top it off with an Allied force that is tailor made to shred the German force with 6 x PIAT teams, 8 x 25 lber’s, 10 x Vickers MG’s, 2 mainly Green platoons of infantry with 2 Regular squads, 4 x 3 inch mortars and the coup de gras…2 x Regular Bofors auto-cannons. One final gripe, I noted that the smaller Allied infantry force did have available a Battalion HQ of 8 men while the German force of more than a Company’s worth of infantry plus various AFV’s did not even have a Company HQ available… a unit that could be invaluable in rallying broken squads and attempting to keep the momentum of attack in motion.

Now, getting that out of the way, I decided that it would be best to conduct my attack with the 2 x 75mm armed halftracks bombarding the front row of 2 storey houses in the town, starting with the suspected MG nest building and working my back with the next row of houses from there. I didn’t want my opponent to see what sort of force I had and in what strength so removing these potential observation locations was of paramount importance in my mind. My plan of attack was to scout through the woods on my left flank towards the known artillery battery no. 1 with my initial platoon of Veteran or better Panzergrenadiers while the 2nd platoon was to scout forward through the scattered woods in the direction of the non mined wheatfield and specifically where the gap was through the bocage to reach the wheatfield. I knew that re-inforcements would be arriving in the form of 2 more platoons of Panzergrenadiers so I didn’t want to be too aggressive early on with my relatively meagre initial force. The overall plan was to scout out the enemy’s position for the first 10 turns or so, manouevre my 2 120 mm FO’s into position with some sort of LOS onto the 2 battery locations and hope for the best with the bombardment while following it up with my infantry force to hopefully overrun any remaining positions on or around the field guns.

The problem with the plan was that I hadn’t allowed for 3 inch mortars, PIAT’s, Vickers MG’s and finally Bofors guns to regularly pop up all along the way to systematically chew my force to pieces via a death by a thousand cuts method. Couple that with relocated 25 pounder guns that were able to create a vicious cross fire into the centre of the town and my infantry force quickly became a quivering mess of dead bodies. Perhaps my plan to split up my force was unwise by sending two full platoons of veteran or better Panzergrenadiers down my left flank to concentrate on Battery 1 while the remaining 2 platoons were sent, (1) via the central road on foot into the southern outskirts of the town with the 4th platoon via the break in the bocage through the unmined wheatfield. The whole process proved extremely costly where, just when you thought there were no more enemy units in the immediate vicinity by eliminating the one observed, another Vickers MG team or PIAT team would pop up to kill off more of your men or light armour respectively. This frustration was no doubt enhanced my Mick’s skillful use of his forces, using excellent fall back methods to ensure only one layer of the onion was revealed at a time. Despite the fact that many of the Allied forces were green (or even worse), this mattered little when 25 pound shells still impact with the same force as a veteran shell, with the same going for 3 inch mortar shells. Provided the defender didn’t allow the enemy force to close in too close, this HE shower became deadly to a lightly supported, mainly infantry force that kept getting held up by yet another Vickers MG team opening up on it.

As I alluded to before, the icing on the cake as far as the defender was concerned were the 2 Bofors guns that were absolutely devastating in Micks hands in first pinning and then killing off whole squads and their supporting HQ’s. The only way I was able to knock out one of the Bofors was by using my meagre 120 mm shell allocation from the 2nd FO to bombard it, a job that it was supposed to be saving for the 25 pounder guns in Battery 2. At the end of the day I barely managed to capture the area around Battery 1 using the pitiful remains of what were once 2 full platoons of veteran or better Panzergrenadier platoons, on the last turn. There was no way what remained of my central infantry force near the southern outskirts of the town could do anything apart from attempt to discourage a potential counter-attack to take the German centrally located objective it started with. This left just the right most infantry platoon that had also copped a very bloody nose and never even looked like closing on Battery No. 2 with at least a platoon of enemy infantry defending the area from an attack. My most powerful squad at the end of the game was a Crack PzGr squad of only 5 men while the equivalent of more than 3 platoons of Panzergrenadiers had been killed or wounded. To be able to scrape through with a draw at the end of the game was more by good luck rather than good management and an extremely skillful defence by Mick Oz ensured I payed the butchers bill in full to achieve the draw.

End results:

Axis- 103 casualties (24 KIA)

8 vehicles destroyed including 1 veteran 251/9 75mm halftrack,1 veteran Puma and assorted halftracks.

Men OK- 73

Score- 48

Allies- 115 casualties (33 KIA)

1 Vickers gunner captured

3 x various 3 inch mortars destroyed

2 Regular Bofors Guns destroyed

4 x various 25 pounder guns destoyed

1 Regular 6 pounder AT gun destroyed

2 x Regular White Scout Cars & 3 x Regular Humber Scout Cars K.O.’d.

Men OK- 156 :eek:

Score- 52

I hope this AAR is not seen as being sour grapes or anything because the end result did not matter as it turned out but I really felt right throughout the battle that the Germans were continually pushing the proverbial uphill, mainly due to encountering a force of close to equal value that was tailor made for its destruction. Simply providing a Company HQ unit and perhaps the full quota of 120mm salvo's would go some way to redress the imbalance in my view and bring the scenario more in line with so called "acceptable" balanced standards. If the intention all along of Stix was to create an unbalanced scenario to see how the attacker would react to a very tough nut then I guess that's fair enough but an imbalance that's not in favour of an attacker is, IMO, the most unenjoyable style of unbalanced scenario. I'm not ungrateful however as without these scenario's being designed in the first place, the ROW tournaments wouldn't happen at all so I take my hat off to the designers but feel it necessary to suggest some minor changes where I perceive they're warranted.

Regards

Jim R.

[ December 21, 2002, 01:11 AM: Message edited by: Kanonier Reichmann ]

[Frunze]

That sounds like a variant on the old "operational surprise is impossible in CM" problem.

I think this was a good scenario. I even liked the labels for Allied positions - presumably this was to simulate advance recon? I used this info to knock down the "machine gun nest" building the first turn, and it warned me where the guns were. Downside of doing it with labels is the Allied player knows what the Axis player knows.

Possibly the briefing should include info on reinforcements? Knowing more vehicles are on the way would've helped me realize I should attack in the center.

[Vadr]

North Of Epron AAR - Chuck "vadr" Grimes (German)

Setup -

A raid on an enemy artillery site. Looks like fun.

I've elected to try to take out battery 1, and then make a grab for the center of town and that VL. If I can get battery 2 well and good. if not, I'll content myself with 3 flags.

Both of my Infantry platoons start at the edge of the swamp west of the main road. My two 75mm HT's start in scattered woods on either side of the road, with good fields of fire to the building labelled "machine gun nest". I'll likely start putting HE into this building on turn 1 to take it out. one of my 20mm HT's starts just east of the road, also with a good field of fire to that building. The Infantry will advance through the woods at the center of the map toward Battery 1, using bounding overwatch. I've stationed one 20mm HT and 2 LMGs on my right flank. Their job will be to make noise and generally draw attention that way. I want my opponent to remain in doubt about my intentions as long as possible. I may commit any reinforcements to the right side to pincer Battery 2, or I may send them up the middle to help out the attack on battery 1. We'll just have to see how it goes.

Turn 1 -

The Machine Gun nest has been destroyed. There were some troops in there, so it was good that I did that. The infantry assault will jump off on turn 2, now that he no longer has that OP to see deep in my rear. By the sound, my opponent moved many trucks over towards Battery 1 this turn. They may be icing on the cake if my attack goes as planned. I could probably use the extra points at the end. I'm also hoping that means he's expecting me to try for Battery 2 and has deployed his defenses in that manner.

Turn 2 -

Hmmm...His artillery responded very quickly to my attack and that cost me a SP251/9. Most unfortunate. The plan proceeds.

Turn 3 -

I sent my Sniper through the woods to the left of the MG nest in advance of the main body and that turned out to be a good thing. My opponent seems to be rather boldly deploying at least a portion of his Infantry forward into the woods. 2 Squads spotted so far. My sniper is literally 1 meter away from some enemy troops, but hasn't been spotted (he was using 'Sneak'). I'll hide him now and see what develops. I would love to open this by receiving an infantry attack and destroying a portion of his forces that way. In any case, a close-range infantry scrap in the woods is in our immediate future.

Turn 4 -

Whoot! Reinforcements! No way I expected them this early. I'm basically holding them in their at-start positions this turn. I'd still like to develop that Infantry fight on my left and the feint on my right. Sure is nice to have reserves! That Infantry in the woods may be just AT teams. How disappointing. I've killed one, we'll see what happens with the other.

Turn 5 -

Well, his Infantry in the woods turned out to be a pair of PIAT teams. Both are dead now and the advance continues. On the right, the feint force has made contact with a MG nest and is taking artillery fire. That's good.

Turn 7 -

My opponent continues to shoot artillery at my decoy force and I continue to be pleased by that. Sound contacts indicate that he is also deploying infantry to the right (his left), also good. He apparently had a 3rd PIAT team in the woods and that unit now has a close-range shot at my Puma. That's bad. The main Infantry force continues to advance to it's jump-off positions without hinderance.

Turn 8 -

Ah. Minefields in the woods of course. However, the mines aren't covered by fire and so constitute merely an annoyance. The PIAT team was killed without injury to my forces, the advance continues...

Turn 9 -

Mein Gott! MORE reinforcements! I can only assume the Canadian "rear area" troops must have significant support nearby. I feel I must use these troops and will therefore step up the tempo. I will commit one platoon (mounted) up the main road, supported by my Puma and the remaining SP251/9. I hold the other platoon and the 2 light tanks in reserve. My plan is to use these troops to interdict any attempt by my opponent to reinforce his threatened flank. The feint on my right continues. My assault troops are nearly in position, I have substantial reserves and I still have loads of time. What more could I ask?

His artillery is just devastating. 2 HT's shocked this turn. Yet another PIAT team kills my Puma. Damn. 2 Vickers have opened up on the left flank of my infantry advance. A problem, but not yet a major one. My troops need cross only a narrow space of open ground in their field of fire before the June wheat will hide them. My opponent is fighting skillfully, and has placed his units well, but I see nothing yet that will prevent me from taking battery 1 or exploiting that into the town. The action heats up.

Turn 10 - Perhaps it wasn't a PIAT team that got the Puma. Spotted a gun this turn, and what looks like a Daimler Scout Car. He seems to have a lot of MG's, but I am slowly taking them out. Time to put a little of my own arty into play, I think. The advance continues as planned.

Turn 11 -

My opponent begins to drop artillery on my forces at the edge of the treeline. That was expected and casualties thus far are light. My arty knocked out that gun I spotted, and I'll use the next 7 rounds to pound the infantry positions he's revealed. 2 of the 3 Vickers MG's on my left flank have been knocked out, and my overwatch forces continue to do a good job of covering the center of the map. I need to kill that Daimler still, but hey, you can't have everything in one turn, right?

Turn 12 -

Ouch. Another gun reveals itself in the center of town, and a 3rd in battery 1. The one in town killed my last Sp251/9. My opponent adjusted his arty very effectively this turn, and really hurt my Infantry advance. Time to commit the reserves I guess. I believe I'll send them down the right side, as the main road is getting a bit crowded now.

Turn 14 -

The hard-fought battle continues. His 25-pounders killed another one of my heavy HT's with a near-miss area shot., and I'm taking heavy casualties everywhere. But, my second arty barrage arrived this turn and for all intents and purposes broke his right flank. I've changed my mind about the reserves and will commit them on the left, to try and capitalize. I cannot afford to have them stopped on the right. The action is fierce.

Turn 15 -

I continue to push hard on the left. He has very little left on that side, although my initial attack is just about out of steam. I've identified 2 Stuarts and a Daimler AC though, and he's concentrating these in the center of town. The loss of my SP251/9s is really felt now, and the Lynx will have to get both close and lucky for a kill. Nonetheless, I continue to hold to the original plan. I will take Battery 1, and may be able to throw the center VL into contention. For the win, I need my opponent to make a mistake and so far, he has not.

Turn 17 -

I am really blowing this attack. My leading Infantry assualt is getting decimated abd it's taking me too long to get the reinforcements up. I own the battery 1 flag but am running out of troops. on the plus side, he appears to be shifting his left flank forces over to his right. Hopefully, I can catch them on the move. Time to concentrate on killing Tommies for a few turns...

Turn 18 -

He continues to chew up the remnants of my infantry assault on the left.I'm moving both the PZ II's and a halftrack across the center, and will drive them towards the right. He's definitely shifting his troops to his right flank and I am able to take them under fire. In the 'good news' department, one of those "light Tank?" units turned out to be a Humber. The halftracks with the last Infantry platoon continue to move slowly through the scattered trees behind the center woods. Should be in position for dismount by next turn. I still have plenty of time and despite my heavy casualties, significant force. There is still hope.

Through turn 23 -

His well-placed guns continue to make mincemeat of my infantry, but what's left of my armor has also pretty much destroyed his. My reserve platoon deployed and is attacking as planned but has already taken severe casualties from his 40mm and 88mm guns in Battery 1. I continue to advance the 2 Lynx and a couple of squads toward battery 2, moving very cautiously. I want to at least throw the flags into contention, but if I get there too early he'll just counterattack me out. I still think I can take Battery 1. If I can do that and maybe throw battery 2 into ? status, perhaps I can get the Draw or maybe a minor victory. Can't afford any more mistakes though. He immediately capitalizes on every one I make.

Turn 29 -

Oh for cryin' out loud. The 'Light Tank?' which has been absolutely dictating my tactics for the last 12 turns or so turns out to be a White Scout Car. Time to cut loose with the Lynx. Damn.

Turn 32 -

Battery 1 is *finally* knocked out. It cost me one of the PZ II's to do it, but my troops are in those foxholes now. My Opponent has two White Scout cars down there on the road near the gun emplacements, I need to kill those. The center flag shows as German, but I'm not buying that. Things have gone much more smoothly now that I no longer have to worry about Stuarts and Damler AC's. Ahhh the Fog of War. My casualties have been horrendous. I still would consider myself fortunate to get a Draw at this point.

Turn 33 -

He drives the two White Scout cars off the map, finally giving me control of battery 1. As I didn't have to commit my last Lynx to chase them off, there's a possibility I can throw the center flag into contested status on the last turn. I hope so. With the casualties I've taken, I'll need every point I can get.

Result - Allied Minor Victory 64-36

Conclusion -

Well, what can I say? My first defeat of the tournament in another great B&T Scenario. The "minefield" labels on the map were brilliant. They really played a part in my initial and follow-up attacks. Not too sure about that "machine gun nest" label, there was no way I wasn't going to shoot at that and I think my opponent was pretty upset about having padlocked troops there who were casualties almost by default. Perhaps that was the intent.

I think B&T should recommend this scenario be played with Full Fog of War. I cannot overstate the role that FoW played in this game (and my defeat). According to my troops, my enemy had 1 Stuart Tank and 2 Daimler AC's in the town, and the "Stuart" especially really dictated my operations from about mid-game on. I simply could not expose my armor or HT's to that "tank", nor to the two armored cars. I realize that one "tank" had turned out to be a Humber, but I got several good looks at the second "Stuart" and the intel on it did not change until turn 29. I had to be cautious, calculating, careful. While I was being all those things, my opponent was slaughtering my infantry. Once my troops properly ID'd the "Stuart" as a White Scout Car, I was able to put on the full-court press and take battery 1, but that was too little, and too late. I still had the force to at least throw the center flag into contest, but I didn't have time. Had I been able to verify earlier that my opponent had no armor, I would have been much more aggressive with my own, especially since I killed most of his Piat teams early in the fight.

Great scenario. Really enjoyed it.

[tabpub]

RoWII North of Epron or

“Normandy on a Shoestring”

PRE-GAME SETUP: The briefing is fairly clear; we are the security for a forward deployed artillery battalion (-). Why we may come under attack is not clear, but that is the fortunes of war. We have 2 25lb batteries and accompanying trucks, many of which are “locked” in place. 2 platoons of infantry of generally less than average quality are the main ground holders. 10 Vickers MG’s make up the “stiffening” for the defense. Unfortunatlely, 2 of them are located in a 2 story building on the south end of town that evidently has a huge banner announcing “Machine Gun Nest” hanging on the roof!!

For anti tank assets, we have a 6lbr, about 7 PIATS, and 2 40mm Bofors. The Bofors are fixed near the gun positions. For artillery, other than the 2 25lb batteries, we have the platoon 50mm’s and 4 of the excellent 3in mortars.

The briefing described the need to consider all round defense of the position. We will not ignore that, as it is entirely possible that enemy forces could come from the flanks or rear; but, we will consider the south as being the highest threat direction. With the south as the “front”, we deploy as follows:

We have one AP minefield; that is placed in the leading edge of the scattered woods on the far right flank. From that point, barbed wire is strung along the scattered woods until it reaches the town. That will make movement very difficult for any attacker, and hopefully will convince him to attack the center. Covering this, is a platoon HQ with 2 squads in the scattered woods, a PIAT watching the right road, a Vickers covering the rear in the 2 story building and 2 more Vickers watching the right front and center front of the position. A Humber AC watches the flank road while a White SC backs up the infantry. In addition to the platoon mortar, a 3in is assigned here as well.

The left is a little more thinly covered. The other platoon HQ is here with 2 squads and the mortar. The same Humber/White combo is working here also. 2 Vickers and 2 PIATS finish the deployment. The hope is that no significant force will risk the wet wheat fields and the mines that are marked there.

The center is where any “push” is anticipated and the heaviest ordinance is saved for here. First off, the 2 squads that were stripped off the platoons are here in an ad hoc platoon under the Battalion CO. 3 Vickers have taken positions here, with the balance of the PIATS. The 6lbr is sighted down the main road in the scattered woods at the Y junction just inside town. And, the 3 remaining 3in mortars are here; one with a DF los to the road, the others behind buildings in command of the Major in the church tower. A white SC is in reserve, with a Humber watching the North road just in case.

OPENING MOVES: About a platoons worth of “light” armor and infantry each move from the scattered woods in the south toward the woods along the road. Several HT’s take the MG nest house under fire and flatten it in 2 minutes with heavy casualties. 3 men make it out but are gunned down like dogs in the road. My 3 in mortars take the scattered trees under indirect fire.

The HT’s advance down the road thru the 3in barrage. One appears immobilized (later examination would show this to be true) and the infantry appears pinned there. The 6lbr opens up at 250m range. The trucks in the rear drive down the roads for more covered positions and to generate some “sound” contacts to hopefully worry the Germans.

Now the HT’s have moved up almost to the former MG nest. They resolve into an assault HT and 2 250/9’s. The ATG loses the duel with them, but a 3in mortar KO’s the 251/9, as I have “layered” the road with fire. I have lost the 3in that had direct LOS to the road however; that was an error in placement. The leading elements of the infantry that came thru the woods to the right of the road begins to appear at the edge of the woods.

At this point I am convinced that the main effort is here. All 3 scout cars rush to the center, one being KO’d, to support the 2 squads of infantry holding the center. About 2 platoons worth of Germans rush across the open ground into the scattered woods on the right center. The armor in the center takes a pounding as one HT is killed by the left 40mm long range thru the buildings and both 250/9’s die; one to a PIAT and the other to a 3in mortar blast. The scene by the road coming thru the woods is chaotic, but still very dangerous.

MID PHASE: The Germans penetrate into the front edge of the village. They lose another HT and a Puma to PIATS, who in turn die in a blaze of gunfire. My AC’s and SC’s support the Major and his 2 squads while a 3rd assists from their position on the right. Any MG with a target is firing now, and German artillery begins to land in the center of town, one round of which takes out both 3in mortars. Well, they had good effect and had fired over ½ of their ammo so that wasn’t too bad. The German infantry take a building in the center, but are forced out when one of their own AT teams shoots and hits the building by mistake, setting it on fire. (I have to admit, I got many laughs out of that one at the time….)

The Germans have a foothold in the village now, with about 2 platoons; but only 3 HT’s seem to be operating now. The German arty has KO’d a Humber, but short rounds have also apparently hurt some German squads. They don’t appear to be pressing the issue right now. Approximately 9 minutes only have elapsed.

Bad report heard: more light armor sound contacts coming down the road. My original 2 squads in the center are in a bad way, but the 2 from either flank have moved up to support, with the ones from the right giving yeomanlike help.

It got worse. The light armor are 2 Lynx coming on fast. One runs the 25lbr/40mm gauntlet into town and burns both Humbers that were helping to cover the road. This is bad, as I have only 2 PIAT teams remaining, both with casualties. He knows where the arty is and the Bofors and can avoid them, running rampant where else he likes. 11 minutes into the attack.

Hold the phone! He is switching his axis of attack! I thought that he would just hammer my center and then proceed to the flanks, but he has picked up and is moving to my left across my front. Apparently he has more troops as 3 ? contacts are spotted; presumably HT’s with infantry. The left flank infantry squads will have to fall back to cover the gun positions. Hopefully I can spare a squad from the center to help out. We will see. 12 min. mark.

Confirm that switch of attack. 6 HT’s are moving on the left. They shot up one of the trucks hiding there before it could join the others in moving off the board. Infantry is trying to redeploy to that area, but time is needed. The 25lbrs will have to look out for themselves. They have already KO’d two HT’s, but it is the infantry that is the problem. The Lynxi appear to be hiding in town, maybe waiting an opportunity. 14min mark.

END PHASE: Whew, this was close run, but I think it is over now. 2 squads of infantry made the woods to the left of Battery 2, but the combined fire of three 25lbr’s broke one and killed the other. The Lynxi tried a dash across the road covered by the Bofors. Unfortunately for them, the scattered woods on the other side slowed them up enough for the Bofors to track and kill both. On the other flank, noticing a slackening of opposition, the 2 squads of C platoon launched an attack that drove the few German defenders in the area to their deaths. The only remaining German asset in the center now appears to be a HT. 16min mark.

Yep that is about it. The left flank attack has been repulsed, the last HT is reversing toward the fields. Scattered crews and small units are seen heading back toward the marshlands with MG fire urging them on. Our right flank counterattack has stopped at the woods line to observe, as the remaining HT on that side is also pulling back. I am calling up the last 3in mortar to try and get some shots at the immobilized assault HT that is way down the road. 18min mark.

It is over. I guess the MG’s must have caused enough casualties to drive him below 15%. Finals at the 20 min. mark are:

Axis 141 cas (42KIA)

35 captured

16 vehicles KO’d

Score 22

Allied: 95 cas (21KIA)

4 mortars dstry’d

1 gun dstry’d

10 vehicles KO’d

Score 78

RECAP: I thought I was done for in this one. 6 total squads of infantry. Yes, the 10 mg’s help, but this is CMBO, and 2 of them were goners in the sacrificial “MG nest”.

The key was the 3in mortars. I only was using two of them for the most part in the indirect mode, but they each got a gun armed HT and I am sure that they caused their share of the infantry casualties. By staggering them down the road, the beaten area was increased, making it difficult for the German to avoid them.

I kept hoping for some reinforcement. Was there any? I think that coming up the road is the play for the German, but then to veer right, as he did too late, and concentrate on the left gun position. The German should consider saving his arty ammo for the battery or to smoke his moves on the battery, because the battery can be very good in its own defense. The 251/9’s are absolutely crucial for the attack. My opponents effective loss of 2 in the first 4-5 minutes could have been the turning point right there. And yes, both were from the mortars, so some “luck” is involved in everything. Ces’t la Guerre, or whatever.

This scenario had me on the edge of my recliner the whole time.

[Kanonier Reichmann]

Bumping so that we can get John "Rocketman" Kettlers AAR's in the right thread.

Regards

Jim R.