Falcon988 Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 After taking St. Come-Du-Mont and the Cottage north of that we prepared for the final advance on the Douvre Bridge. What sucked though is that German armor was hassling us from the get go and each side lost a few tanks in the fighting. Then the infantry came under artillery fire and this is where I made a CRITICAL mistake... instead of ordering them to fall back I ordered them to advance under the arty fire and hopefully get away from it. Very soon we encountered stiff Infantry resistance and started taking high casualties. Then a German flamethrower started torching my boys and it became a route. I started dropping 105mm's on advancing German troops and caused them a lot of casualties, plus knocked out a Halftrack at the same time. Forward Observers are great... that is until he was killed by the German troops. In the end most of my force was killed or wounded and about 3 became POW's. We lost a LOT of hard won ground and the front line now lies at the southern end of St. Come-Du-Mont. Good news is that we've got reinforcements in the form of two Shermans and about 3 Platoons of Infantry and we're ready to start Battle 5 of the Operation. Right now my plan is to take up defensive positions in St. Come-Du-Mont for at least another day until more reinforcements show up and then launch another assault on the Douvre Bridge. Any of you expert tacticians got any advice on how to avoid another massacre like the one listed above? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falcon988 Posted March 31, 2003 Author Share Posted March 31, 2003 Another question... I just played through another battle and after it was complete my troops had occupied St. Come-Du-Mont but were always under attack by the Germans. In fact right up until the end there were Germans attacking. But I had troops all the way inside Du-Mont, occupying the local Church and whatnot... but now the next battle the front line is just SOUTH of where I actually was and it looks like I have to take the town again. But if there's Germans there again that means I'll have to go through yet ANOTHER battle to take it. Why did the front line switch? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandelion Posted March 31, 2003 Share Posted March 31, 2003 At the end of every battle, a no-mans-land of 400 meters is created. That's what pushed you back. You either lost or went even in your last battle. If your line is just South of St Come du Mont, there will be no Germans in the town. They will start exactly 400 meters from your forwardmost position (easily gagued by LOS line). Staying put in defensive positions is not normally advisable in an operation like this one. Remember you have to advance 30% of the map or you loose. The answer I believe to your situation is the what Patton meant by "grab him in the nose and kick him in the butt". Use scouts (half-teams - select the halves that get the most automatic weapons) advancing 1-200 meters ahead of your main body of troops. Make sure they advance stealthily and keep your main body out of long range sight at all times. The patrols will sooner or later hit enemy positions, or detect enemy troops advancing. You now know where he is, but he does not know where you are (except for the patrols he might have discovered). Don't engage with the patrols, just use "withdraw" if they end up in a firefight and crawl away. You are facing German paratroops (and some SS I believe), who have superior firepower to you, especially at short ranges. So in order to succeed, you will have to create local superiority. Having pinpointed the enemy positions, choose a target force to destroy. Assemble at least 2:1 odds in numbers and any support you can assemble, and attack this force. Shell him while advancing towards him with your assault group, and if you are planning to overwhelm him, smoke him too. You isolate the enemy force either by setting up ambush positions covering possible approaches for enemy reinforcements, or by using smaller patrols who engage all other enemy formations at longer ranges. Or both. Use your many MGs to harass the enemy at long range. They need only engage and annoy, to keep heads down and people busy. i.e. tying them down. When the fighting has begun in earnest, make it a rule never to remain in any place with anybody longer than 2 full minutes. Shells will be coming in. You can attempt to force the enemy to use his support for smoke screens by skillful use of your tanks. You can also trick him into using it on minor targets, such as you patrols. Hope it helps Dandleion 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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