Fellowship of the Newbie Continued

[Cpl Carrot]

The last thread has reached it's 300 post limit so I thought I had better get another one started. Feel free to discuss all the battle so far

Cpl Carrot

[Ace Pilot]

I guess I’ll kick things off. I really enjoyed these last two scenarios, but I have to ask – did ANYONE win Counter Strike as the Germans??? I thought I came out on top as the Americans because of my superior tactics, but then I saw the final results and was shocked to see I had close to 200 more infantry than the Germans. And the Germans seemed to be outclassed in armor as well (3 to 1 ratio if I remember correctly). As for the artillery, I had so much of it that I didn’t even use it all up, even though I was doing things like firing a battery of 60mm (about 5 or 6 of them) indirectly at the German’s StuG (hoping to immobilize it – got a gun kill instead!).

Like I said, I enjoyed both scenarios, but I really had to question just how balanced the Counter Strike scenario was for a meeting engagement. It didn’t seem to me that the Germans really had much of a chance.

Does anyone know what the point totals were for each side?

Ace

[Shades]

I'm not sure what the actual point totals were for each side. Allied side did have about 200 more men but only a 2 to 1 in armor. I was allies and actually only got a draw with a two point advantage to my opponent, Lurker. I wiped out most of his infantry and had most of mine but he took out every tank of mine with his Panther and Tiger and I actually only got his Stug and three halftracks(two with artillery). He had good hull down positions and I kept bouncing my shots and his gunners made me pay. Losing my armor balanced out the points. I should have flanked him more with my tank destoyers and my zooks could never get close enough as he kept them pretty clear of the woods. I was able to take the woods first and set up firing lines which he walked into and wiped out their effectivness pretty quick. A couple shots my way with my tanks(and better tank tactics) and the points could have shifted my way. Lurker and I actually had draws with both our battles.

[Len]

I had the feeling that I got the best side of the deal - playing the Allies in Counterstrike, and Axis in Remulak.

Len

[Ace Pilot]

Len – I’m in complete agreement with you. In fact, when I saw the set up for Remulak (from the German POV), my first thought was that the Americans were screwed. I actually thought the Remulak scenario was the unbalanced one of the two – until I compared the forces in Counter Strike.

Shades – sounds like Lurker either played his armor expertly, got lucky, or some combination of the two. However, despite dominating the armor battle, he still could only manage a draw. Did your infantry tactics overwhelm him? Did he blow it with his infantry? Was he just outnumbered? Or was it something else? Normally, I would expect the side that wipes out the opposing armor to dominate the battlefield.

I did notice that the German infantry had oodles of panzerfausts. But with as much open terrain as there was, it seemed there was little opportunity to actually use them. And, of course, being outnumbered in infantry made it that much harder for the German to use them.

[Shades]

I'm not sure how quickly my opponent moved his axis infantry to the woods but I ran mine right away based on the fact this was a meeting engagement and I didn't want to get caught only in the small town. I was able to position my infantry to cover approaches to the main flag and waited for him to walk into me which he did. He then had to pull back with a lot of losses. If he got better position in the woods first maybe it would have been different. It would appear the axis side would have to have a lot of things go right with both infantry and armor to win this one. I'm curious what the intial forces the axis had as the Americans got two additional platoons(or was it three?) as reinforcements which really turned the infantry battle.

[Alsatian]

I thought giving people the axis in Counter Stroke, and then the Americans in Remulak was pretty brutal, and I was certainly brutalized by Space Hamster. I only scored roughly 25 points in each scenario. I have to congratulate him for getting some of the best scores in this round of the tournament, but as far as balance in the scenarios, I didn't see much.

Counter Stroke went well for me at first. I risked one platoon by sending them through the wheat field on my left and up onto the ridge next to town. I flushed out the mortars and MGs I suspected to be there, but that was the only good news. My main body of infantry waiting in the central woods for things on the left to play out, was discovered by his tank-hunting zooks then crushed by what seemed like 2 infantry companies. My two good armor assets were taken out easily: one in a one-shot dual, the other in a three shot dual, and in that, it was my shots that bounced off the American. So there's some just plain bad luck factored into that.

In the end, my left platoon was negated by the American reinforcments, and the remainder of my survivors I just took off the board. In the end, it was ridiculous.

That was hard enough, but then to be given the Americans in Remulak (we come from france)...man, what's the word for salt in the wounds? Yeah, screwed. You can pick from a bunch of American disadvantages. I'll pick a bridge assault exposed to fire from three sides. I'll even throw in that 2 of my 4 Sherman reinforcements immobilized before they could even reach a road. Again, bad luck rises its ugly head, but again I say...man, give a guy a chance at least.

Space Hamster put me out of my misery just as I was about to make a second desparate assault across the bridge when he blew the bridge with area fire from his guns. He offered to replay the turn and not blow the bridge, but I was grateful to be put out of my misery.

No, all things considered, I don't think the scenarios were as well balanced as those from the earlier rounds. That's not necessarily bad if each player is given one favorable and one unfavorable scenario. But in this case those who were the Axis in Counter Stroke and Americans in Remulak got two unfavorable positions.

Man.

[SkeeterBee]

I was Ace Pilot's opponent and sank in the same boat as Alsatian. As the Axis in Counter, I rushed and secured the woods early on. My plan was to secure the right flank (from the axis perspective) then move armor and reinforcements up the road and pinch the town. My attempt at the flank was thwarted by overwhelming fire power, open ground and ineffective smoke. A few units made it into the woods but were quickly routed or killed. At that point, my armor was unprotected but had to move forward anyway to take some shots. Ace had his tanks well placed and had great shots. My panther and tiger were knocked out almost instantly. Some of my rounds actually bounced off his armor (Shades?).

At that point, he just moved his masses into the woods and cleaned me out.

Remulak was equally futile. The terrain was a problem, and some of my armor didn't make it into the fight. I managed to secure my side of the bridge pretty easily, but getting across was difficult (thanks to a brilliantly placed ambush on Ace's part). The litter of knocked out armor all over the bridge made it impossible for my armor to support any infantry charges and became sitting ducks while looking for targets on the other side. Any attempt to cross resulted in a masacre.

I'd like to think that I just got beat, but everyone's results would suggest an imbalance in the scenarios.

Skeet

[Ace Pilot]

SkeeterBee,

I'd like to think I beat you as well but I'm afraid I just got the more favorable sides.

Below is the AAR for Remulak that SkeeterBee and I put together. I have a PDF version that I can email (1.7mb) if I don't get the screenshots to appear properly (I've been having difficulty getting it to work consistently and I don't know why).

As I said earlier, I thought this was the unbalanced scenario, until I saw the forces in Counterstrike. I had the Germans, who were defending against an American attempt at a bridge crossing.

Battle for Remulak

In late 1944, heavy rains swelled the rivers between France and Germany, increasing the importance of control of key river bridges. This battle depicts an attempt by American forces to take control from the Germans of just such a bridge at Remulak. The battle takes place in November 1944, with rain and wet ground conditions. There is a single, large victory location, controlled by the Germans, just east of the only bridge. The battle map is depicted below.

Set up

Looks to me like the Americans are screwed. I’m assuming there are no U.S. forces already across the river, so the only way across is the bridge. And it sits almost at the apex of a point of land, so it can be flanked easily from the German side of the river, but not very easily from the U.S. side. Furthermore, the rain coming down limits visibility to about 400 meters, so any supporting fire is going to have to get in at least that close, if not closer.

Most important, there is a small depression at the end of the bridge on the German side that will allow a reverse slope defense to be set up. It appears to be protected from the American side of the river. With only a single victory location, I did contemplate the possibility of quickly destroying the bridge and then just pulling everything back except for a small force to retain control of the VL. With no other way across, the Americans would be forced to overcome my VL points by trying to inflict casualties without being able to close in on me. And with the slight depression behind the VL, I thought I might be able to retain control of the VL without even exposing myself to enemy fire. However, I ruled out this plan for the following reasons:

1. No assurance that I had enough HE to destroy the bridge.

2. I wasn’t ABSOLUTELY sure the Americans didn’t have assault boats or forces on the German

side of the river.

3. It would make for a boring game.

4. I thought my reverse slope defense of the bridge was an even better plan.

From intel reports, I expect a company of American infantry to approach along the road that heads off to the south, while American armor is expected to approach from the northwest (I expect along the road – it would be just plain mean to make the U.S. player risk bogging his armor off-road in these wet conditions). I’m counting on the fact that the wet conditions will force the American armor to stick to the roads (which is what I plan to do with my limited armor).

I have two full strength platoons (B and C) and two partial platoons (D platoon with 2 squads and E platoon with 1 squad). Positions are marked by letter on the map. Platoons B and E have been deployed to the American (west) side of the bridge around the Mill House (the only 2-story building near the bridge on the American side of the river) with every squad split in an effort to make it look like I have more than I really do. C platoon is deployed on the reverse slope of the German (east) side of the bridge, no more than about 60m from the center span of the bridge. Again, every squad has been split, in this case to provide more foxholes for infantry pulling back from the American side of the bridge.

D platoon is in an ambush position, well outside of town, along the road the US infantry is expected to use. However, I plan to pull them back immediately across the river, hoping the foxholes will be spotted and slow the U.S. approach.

I’ve also placed a picket at position 1. It consists of an LMG on the second floor and a panzerschreck team with LOS to the road where the American armor is expected.

An armored car (PSW 234/1) sits at position 2, hoping for some halftracks to support the infantry that is expected to approach along that road.

I have 2 AT guns, a 50mm at position 3, and a 75mm at position 4. Both have limited LOS to the road across the river. The 50mm may be a throw away if only infantry comes up the road. If there are any support vehicles, it will be a nice turkey shoot, though. The 75mm may get some flank shots at any armor along the road, depending on how slow they approach. Regardless, it has a clean LOS to the bridge where it will definitely have some flank shot opportunities. Additionally, B platoon’s HQ has been assigned to take command of the 75mm AT gun because of his stealth bonuses (+2), leaving the Company HQ in charge of B platoon.

Additional resources deployed throughout Remulak are a sharpshooter, an LMG (upper floor of the Mill House), an HMG (upper floor of the church), two, panzerschrecks, two 20mm-armed halftracks, and a Marder. Like C platoon, one of the panzerschrecks is deployed on the reverse slope just east of the bridge so his LOS only reaches to the middle of the bridge. The other panzerschreck is dug in behind the small building just north of the church. The building should protect him from fire coming from across the river, but he still has LOS to the eastern half of the bridge.

With C platoon covering the bridge from a reverse slope position, any attempt to rush infantry across the bridge will meet some stiff opposition once it reaches the midpoint of the bridge. Likewise, any armor attempting to cross the bridge will be subjected to panzerschreck and panzerfaust attacks when it reaches the bridge’s midpoint. Additionally, by assuming a position on the reverse slope from the bridge, this infantry should be protected from suppressive fire coming from across the river. In fact, they should remain unspotted until the Americans make their first attempt at crossing the bridge. The one exception is if the Americans position troops on the second floor of the Mill House. My plan for thwarting this will be to employ the HE rounds from my Marder and 75mm ATG to reduce the building to rubble, if the Americans try setting up an outpost there. My biggest fear is that the Americans may just smoke the bridge and town, at which point I could have great difficulty in stopping any bridge crossing, since any force that successfully crosses (even one as small as a platoon), I’ll have to challenge by occupying the buildings in town. Once I’m forced out of my reverse slope position, my troops are exposed to all the supporting firepower on the American side of the river. However, if I remain unspotted, the Americans may feel there is no need to use smoke before attempting to cross. Therefore, the key to this defense appears to be setting up to deny the American any ability to bring effective fire to bear from across the river, while still being able to bring effective German fire on the bridge.

Turns 1-5

D platoon heads for Remulak, hopefully without being spotted. Split platoons regroup. E platoon/squad repositions to south of the bridge to help cover D platoon while they pull back. B platoon pulls back across the river to an open depression behind C platoon’s position, hopefully out of harm from the American artillery that is certain to pound the town at some point.

Someone (probably my 50mm gun) spots US Infantry(?) moving up parallel to the road off to the south.

I’ve decided to position D platoon on the riverbank on the American side of the river. They will be in the open, but will have extremely short LOS just to the bridge and riverbank – hopefully an ideal ambush situation for anyone trying to rush the bridge.

An 81mm mortar spotter arrives by kubelwagon. He pulls up to a hilltop, checks it for LOS (which is poor) and climbs back into the kubelwagon to look for a better spot in town.

Turns 6-9

I continue to spot US Infantry(?) coming up the road. My PSW 234/1 with its intimidating 20mm “Cannon of Death and Meanness”™ opens up on the infantry as they continue to approach. They don’t seem to notice. I start to pull back my PSW234/1 with its “Cannon of Death and Meanness”™ and contemplate upgrade options.

American Commentary: My first main objective is to establish a bridgehead on the American (west) end of the bridge. At this point I have one platoon moving along the road with a second platoon in support moving along the tree line at the base of the ridge. A third platoon and convoy of 4 half-tracks and 2 MD-10s is moving cross country along the backside of the main ridge line. The higher ground seems less muddy and so far so good, no bogged vehicles. If all goes according to plan, I will have one platoon occupying the small hamlet just SW of the road intersection at the American end of the bridge and two platoons in the tree line at the north end of the ridge line, due west of the bridge. I hope to bring supporting fire over the crest of the ridge while the three platoons assault and establish the bridgehead.

Turns 10-13

Reinforcements arrive. A pioneer platoon, 2 halftracks and a Puma show up on the south edge of the map, a mere 300m east of the river. Since there are no roads in this area, I will consider it a major victory if the vehicles can just make it to town without bogging down. Wish I knew the best way to navigate wet ground conditions.

Still trying to encourage my sharpshooter to fire. The armored car with the “Cannon of Death and Meanness”™ continues to pull back and is now at the west end of the bridge. My mortar spotter calls for an artillery strike on the building at the bend in the road where it looks like a US platoon is mustering. The artillery may have done some damage, but I cancel it in hopes of using it on a bigger concentration of troops. The US platoon didn’t advance as quickly as I had planned.

And, naturally, my Puma bogs down.

American Commentary: There are three casualties as a result of the arty fire. Meanwhile, an AT team is caught in the open investigating the abandoned foxholes. Direction of fire is unknown, but as we understand now, it was from the “Cannon of Death and Meanness”™. One casualty results.

Turn 14

Armor contact! My picket forces (at position 1) spot what appears to be a Stuart(?), Tank Destroyer(?), 2 Shermans(?), and a platoon of infantry, all coming from the west edge of the map, not the north edge where the road exits. Tough break for the Americans, since they could lose a tank or 2 to bogging as they struggle to get to the road. The armor is only about 150 meters from my panzerschreck team, with the infantry only about 50 meters ahead of the armor. I could wait and see if this force passes me without noticing, then try for some rear shots. But I’m concerned that the infantry will move through my building as they naturally seek cover while advancing. I’ll use the LMG to attempt to discourage the U.S. infantry from coming closer, while the panzerschreck targets a Sherman. Only a 21% chance to hit, but better than nothing. Considering that I was set up to hit targets coming along the road, I’m fortunate that my panzerschreck has any LOS to these vehicles that suddenly appeared behind me.

Meanwhile, my bogged Puma can take a crack at some of the infantry that didn’t make it to the artillery bombardment. I figure he’s not going anywhere while bogged down and might become immobilized, so he might as well use his ammo while he’s got targets of opportunity. He has no LOS to the bridge, so once this infantry passes him by, that could be it for him.

Here’s the situation at the start of Turn 14. From what I can gather, it appears that one US platoon is moving toward the bridge by paralleling the road from the south and have finally reached the small building at the bend in the road. Another platoon appears to be working its way over the ridge due west of the bridge. Way off to the northwest, my picket forces have spotted enemy armor and an infantry platoon.

German forces are deployed as follows. On the American side of the river, E platoon/squad is dug in beside the buildings south of the road leading to the bridge. The two squads of D platoon are on the other side of the road right on the water’s edge, using the slope of the river bank to remain unspotted in hopes of blasting the first US units that attempt to cross the bridge. D platoon’s HQ is in the Mill House (2-story building in front of the 2 squads of D platoon), along with a LMG on the second floor. On the German side of the river, from left to right, I have a Marder covering the entrance to the bridge. A sharpshooter is on the second floor of the 2-story building near the river. A kubelwagon is parked behind a small building where my 81mm mortar spotter is positioned. A HMG is on the second floor of the church and 2 halftracks are hiding behind it. A panzerschreck is dug in behind the building north of the church and C platoon and another panzerschreck are dug in and behind a slope east of the bridge.

The turn begins with the US armor hammering my LMG (guess he wasn’t as hidden as I’d hoped). No matter, my panzerschreck is unspotted and has time to line up a shot that takes out the Sherman. That draws a lot of attention and half of my team is driven from the building by overwhelming U.S. firepower (the other half was left behind to straighten up some of the mess we made in the building). The LMG team also attempts to bug out. Before doing so, they report yet another tank contact, bringing the US total to 5 AFVs, including the KO’ed one.

American Commentary: One Sherman is lost almost as soon as it appears on the map! Fortunately, there is a platoon in support moving ahead of my armor. A panzerschreck and MG are spotted and quickly eliminated before any more armor is lost. One M5A1 -Stuart is bogged and immobilized. Three Shermans eventually make it to the road.

My Puma lobs a couple of shells across the river, while also unbogging (maybe the recoil from the gun did it). In town, my sharpshooter finally decides to try a couple of shots. Also, the LMG in the Mill House across the river opens up on what appears to be part of an infantry platoon approaching through the trees due west.

Turn 15

More reinforcements arrive – another pioneer platoon, an MG halftrack, and a halftrack with a 20mm – all on the south side map edge. Not sure where to put them since I don’t want my infantry bunched up for what must be a tremendous amount of US artillery. I decide to position up the road from town (if they can make it across all that wet ground), along with enough halftracks for quick transport.

My picket forces (panzerschreck and LMG) are cut down by the advancing Americans.

Turn 16

More reinforcements – uggghhh!!! If I’m getting all this stuff, what must the Americans be getting??? A StuH and a StuG arrive, this time on the north side of the map. I assume they have an even better chance of bogging than my other vehicles.

American Commentary: I’ve taken the hamlet and I’ve got 2 platoons in the tree-line at the base of the ridge. I have an MG at the crest of the ridge that puts suppressing fire on the MG located in the top floor of the Mill House. An MD-10 also crests the ridge and silences the “Cannon of Death and Meanness”™ that’s paying too much attention to 2 measly little bazooka squads. Time to move out.

Turns 17-20

US infantry continues to push forward around all sides of the bridge. While covering the pullback of my LMG out of the Mill House and across the bridge, my armored car with the “Cannon of Death and Meanness”™ is engaged by 1, then 2 antitank teams. He spots one and pins them down, but as he begins to reverse back toward the bridge, an unspotted team KO’s him. [Not true – apparently it was a completely unspotted tank destroyer that got him.] The crew manages to escape across the bridge, which I’m sure completely spoils whatever plans my opponent had.

I also spot 2 halftracks coming down the road from where I expected US armor. The absence of heavy armor makes me wonder if it hasn’t all bogged down and is out of the fight. I push two 20mm halftracks up close to the bridge to challenge the halftracks. They both get nailed by antitank teams because we forget to turn off the “bazooka magnets” that seem to be standard equipment in my halftracks. But my LMG team does make it across the bridge and into the building north of the road, so part of my ego remains intact. Furthermore, my opponent must be struggling to figure out how sacrificing 3 vehicles to get 6 guys (LMG and armored car crew) across the bridge plays into my overall strategy. Let him ponder, I say.

My most forward SS squad (E “platoon”) opens up on advancing infantry and draws the attention of the entire 3rd Army (except for that guy Patton slapped). They bug out to the little house by the river after losing most of the squad (apparently, though, they still have enough to claim “Head of Household” status for tax purposes in their new abode). Their HQ gets annihilated. D platoon’s HQ in the Mill House gets annihilated by a US platoon that is advancing on the Mill House. My StuH has made it into range of the opposite bank and it begins to engage the Mill House in order to deny them the 2nd story vantage point, which is the only position on the west side of the river that I think can spot C platoon. As long as I can prevent the Americans from learning where C platoon is, they should be able to execute a devastating ambush when the Americans try to cross the bridge.

Turns 21-23

The two squads of D platoon, positioned in the open on the water’s edge prove disappointing. They are spotted well before any US infantry tries rushing the bridge. Caught out in the open, one squad runs for the Mill House, where a US platoon makes short work of them. The other squad attempts to flee across the bridge and are cut down as they set foot on the bridge. The Americans completely control the west side of the river, allowing them to capture - and exploit - the “Cannon of Death and Meanness”™.

American Commentary: My setup has worked up to this point. I’ve sent smoke over to the German side of the bridge and have begun my advance to secure the American side and establish a bridgehead. By turn 22 I’ve occupied all buildings on the American side and have flushed or eliminated all remaining enemy from the area. One setback, however, is that there are multiple enemy armor knockouts at either end of the bridge making a tank crossing near impossible.

Time to level the Mill House. Before my StuH can unleash its fury on the Mill House, some smart-ass GI pops the tank commander. About the same time, I spot 2 Shermans coming down the road from the north (guess his heavy armor didn’t permanently bog). My StuG fires a couple of rounds (missing) at the lead Sherman before pulling back to safety with the idea of waiting for the armor to push more forward so as to harass their flanks. Unfortunately, the Sherman rips off a quick shot that damages the StuG gun. The same Sherman then engages my StuH (still reeling from the effects of the TC casualty) and, seconds later, KO’s it. Furious with these results, I unhide my 75mm ATG to engage the second Sherman. Two shots later, the tank is dead, but a third Sherman appears around the bend and lobs 2 HE shells my way, knocking out my ATG with the second shot. Apparently, I should have waited for a more appealing flank shot. Or applied for some US government-back ATG subsidies.

Without my StuH to take out the Mill House, I resort to my Marder, which is down to 5 HE shells, to pound on the Mill House outpost. Luck is with me and the first round sets the building on fire (what do they mill in there - gasoline?), forcing the US platoon to vacate hastily. I don’t believe they were able to spot C platoon, so they will continue to wait in ambush. The remaining Marder rounds are directed at the small building close to the river. It is reduced to rubble and the US platoon scurries back out of the Marder’s LOS.

I push my last 20mm-armed halftrack forward to a position to the right of my Marder in an attempt to pick off some of the aggressive US halftracks. A tank destroyer does its job and I no longer have to worry about 20mm halftrack tactics.

My artillery spotter drops the rest of his rounds near the west end of the bridge in an effort to disrupt what appears to be the Americans organizing a bridge assault. Meanwhile, US halftracks and Shermans move into position to support the bridge crossing. My HMG in the church draws a large volume of fire, and is routed completely out of the church. This is actually fortuitous since the priest was getting a little “too” friendly, if you know what I mean.

American heavy artillery appears to be dropping haphazardly around the bridge. Most rounds land on the east side, but a handful seem to be off the mark and land on the west side amongst the Americans. C platoon, ready to repel a bridge assault, is unfazed by the bombardment. However, B platoon, hiding in the open depression east of C platoon, suffers 3 casualties from a round that went long and 2 squads head for the hills.

My Puma finally makes it to the road that leads into town. I set him up about 150m outside of town so his LOS to the American forces is about 380m, just on the edge of the visibility limits. He’s out of HE, so I primarily want him to pick off halftracks when possible. My pioneer platoon is set up in the buildings close to my Marder. They have limited ability to cover the bridge because of range, but are in a good position to provide reinforcements if needed. The second pioneer platoon is loaded up on halftracks on the road well east of Remulak, ready to roll into town if needed, but staying out of range for now.

American Commentary: At the cost of only one Sherman, two German assault guns and an AT gun are knocked out and my left flank is secure. The Mill House is burning and I have to vacate before any LOS can be established. The German ambush has not been spotted at this point. I have some 105mm arty falling to soften up the German side a bit, but it doesn’t seem to be too effective.

Turn 24

Still more reinforcements – a Jagdpanther arrives on the road at the east edge of the map. I will bring it up the road to about where the Puma is positioned.

The Americans attempt to rush the bridge with a platoon of infantry. C platoon under Lt. Gansel (+2 combat) performs flawlessly in their reverse slope position, with ambush points on the bridge a mere 60m away. As I suspected, the Americans weren’t even aware of their presence. Here is the American view during their rush across the bridge.

One squad is cut down in the middle of the bridge. A second squad, along with what appears to be the platoon HQ, is eliminated shortly after stepping off the bridge on the German side. The last squad, after crossing the bridge while taking heavy casualties, turns north seeking refuge in the wheat field. Finding none, it retreats west to the safety of the riverbank, out of LOS.

Below are the results of the first American infantry rush across the bridge. Lt. Gansel is at the lower left. A single US squad remains, and it heads for the cover of the wheat field. On the far right, a C platoon squad cowers after taking casualties from the shelling a Sherman gave to the nearby building.

My Marder knocks out a halftrack that ventures in too close attempting to support the US infantry.

On the downside, that Sherman tank that took out my 75mm ATG spots my LMG in the building to the north of the road. Several HE rounds into the building eliminate the LMG, as well as causing 3 casualties to the C platoon squad dug in just on the opposite side of the building. They panic, but hold their position.

US smoke rounds (perhaps arriving a bit too late) start generating a weak smoke screen right at the end of the turn.

American Commentary: The basic plan was to send the three platoons that established the initial bridgehead over to the German side to hold some/any ground and provide support for 3 more full strength platoons that would cross and attempt to occupy buildings and positions on the German side. This was necessary before any armor could attempt their slow, arduous trip across the bridge. A weak smoke screen arrived a few seconds too late and resulted in the slaughter of the first platoon (or should we call them an “exploratory committee”?). The ambush has been spotted! The second platoon attempted the crossing through an ineffective smoke screen and had slightly better luck, but couldn’t hold their ground.

Turn 25

The Americans rush a second platoon across the bridge. This rush is only slightly more successful than the last one. What I believe is the platoon HQ gets cut down in the middle of the bridge. Another squad is eliminated as it gets off the bridge. The remaining two squads step off the bridge and hightail it for the river’s edge in an effort to break LOS. Meanwhile, Lt. Gansel gets his panicked squad under control, as well as the HMG from the church. The HMG is ordered back up to the second floor of the church (we'll deal with the priest later) and ambushes are set up for the bridge and any effort to get US infantry into the building north of the road.

Shown below (trees removed for clarity) is the beginning of the second rush. Americans have started to find positions on the US side of the river where they can direct fire at elements of C platoon, but the majority of the platoon is still safe on their reverse slope. At this point, I realized that if the Americans were to start firing on my dead halftracks, they could set them on fire and give themselves some cover while crossing the bridge. Fortunately, the Americans did not attempt this. On the American side of the bridge, just to the left of the Mill House are a knocked out halftrack, my KO’ed armored car, and a knocked out Sherman.

My Marder picks off a Sherman that tried edging up to the bridge.

On my left flank, my 50mm ATG spots a lone Sherman coming up the road from the south. I should probably wait and see if there are more Shermans coming, but I’m too impatient. Not to mention the fact that the 50mm hasn’t done anything all game. I unhide the 50mm so he can take a shot.

Turn 26

The Americans attempt to rush what appears to be the remnants of a third platoon across the bridge. Smoke shells fall around the bridge helping cover the rush. Nonetheless, two units are cut down in the middle of the bridge while the third makes it across and tries to break LOS by heading for the riverbank. At the same time, the remnants (3 depleted squads totaling about 15 men) of the first two rush attempts charge up from the safety of the riverbank and storm the small building to the north of the road. One squad of 5 men is driven off, one, with 1 man, reaches the building, and the third is reduced to a single man just outside the building. The American smoke gives me a chance to move up some squads from B platoon that are hiding in the depression east of the bridge.

Shown below is the end result of the third rush by the American infantry, as seen from the American side of the bridge. Despite some well-placed smoke (that arrived too late to assist the rush), many of the Americans are cut down on the bridge. The infantry near the building on the left are survivors from the previous attacks making yet another attempt to drive the Germans out of their dug in positions by seizing the unoccupied building.

My 50mm opens up on the lone Sherman. After 4 shots, he hits and KO’s the Sherman, which appeared to be oblivious to the fact that it was under attack. No other Shermans appear. I’m unsure whether my opponent knows where the shots came from.

Turn 27

It appears that the US attack has faltered. The one squad from the last rush that made it across the bridge is eliminated before it can make it to the riverbank. The 1-man squad in the building north of the road tries to bug out, but is eliminated. A lone platoon HQ rushes across the bridge and is cut down. The Americans, at a ghastly cost, have established 6 men on the German side of the river – a regular 5-man squad and a green 1-man squad. A few more smoke shells fall, but for the most part, the smoke screen is lifting.

Two squads from B platoon move out of their defilade position and into the rubble east of the bridge, making use of the smoke dropped by the Americans.

Turns 28-30

American halftracks begin to aggressively push toward the river, so I respond by advancing my Puma up the road in an effort to pick off some halftracks. Instead, my Puma spots a tank destroyer in some scattered trees across the river. My Puma misses three shots, decides the tank destroyer is too hard to hit (must be

part of that instant gratification generation) and rips off a wild shot at a halftrack. The next tank destroyer round kills the very stupid Puma. Unfortunately, the crew survives and goes on to weaken the gene pool.

Apparently in an effort to even things up, a Sherman by the bridge moves behind a smoke screen, attempting to engage my armor once the smoke screen clears. Unfortunately, a German HQ unit 240m away at its 9 o’clock position distracts it (most amazingly, this HQ unit has a +2 stealth bonus – guess it doesn’t work when you are 2 football fields away and its pouring down rain). My Jagdpanther punches a hole in the side of the Sherman’s turret.

American artillery begins to fall haphazardly again, causing some light casualties.

Turns 31-34

American artillery continues to fall, causing surprisingly few casualties. Perhaps being dug in but out in the open (no treebursts) helps.

My Jagdpanther shells a building across the river where it appeared American infantry were concentrating, reducing it to rubble and scattering the Americans.

I manage to eliminate the 6 US infantrymen that were still on the German side of the river.

American halftracks find a good LOS to Lt. Gansel and start to bring him under heavy fire. I consider trying to move him to a more secure location, but fear that a dash across open ground will most certainly result in his demise. I have him hunker down in his foxhole.

The Americans launch one last assault, this time by 2 platoons. About half are driven back to the American side of the river, while the other half are cut down. Sadly, Lt. Gansel is a casualty, but the Company HQ is available to rush up to the rubble and take charge.

A German offer for a cease fire is accepted at the end of Turn 34.

The members of C platoon are the heroes of this battle. They inflicted a confirmed 36 casualties on the enemy while suffering 16 themselves.

American Commentary: With the failure of the first wave crossing, time became an enemy and my armor began getting picked off one-by-one. Out of smoke and arty, and support fire from tanks and half-tracks quickly dwindling, all I could hope for was one last dash across the bridge by 2 full strength platoons with only a couple of turns left in the scenario. The ambush once again proved effective, my assault was blocked.

Lessons Learned

A dug-in reverse slope defense can be very effective when the enemy must cross a lot of open ground.

No matter what, armor needs infantry to screen for it. I thought my halftracks were safe on the German side of the river, but my opponent showed me how capable he was in the employment of his bazooka teams. Bottom line is that I should have kept my halftracks behind my infantry, not out front where bazookas could get them.

This scenario turned into an armor standoff, thanks to the limited approaches (the bridge) and limited maneuvering room (caused by the wet ground conditions). Each side had narrow lanes covered by armor and any movement into those lanes resulted in death. I lost my last halftrack and my Puma that way. My Marder picked off a halftrack and Sherman when each crept into LOS. Getting armor into positions where they can only be engaged by moving into their narrow LOS makes for a very powerful asset.

The tactical options available to the Americans in this scenario are extremely limited. With the employment of a proper German defense, the Americans are faced with the prospects of rushing across a wide open bridge that exposes them to point-blank infantry fire and flanking anti-tank fire. It would appear the only remedy is a solid smoke screen. I think this scenario could be made much more interesting if the Americans were given 3 assault boats, thereby giving them the option of putting a small force on the German side of the river, or even a fair-sized force if shuttle operations are conducted. This would give the Germans another element to contend with, and I believe they have the resources to do so fairly (I had an entire platoon sitting in halftracks that never did anything). But as it stands now, the Germans merely have to concentrate on preventing the Americans from crossing the bridge, which is not that difficult a task given the terrain around the bridge. A more interesting task would be trying to prevent the Americans from crossing the river.

American Commentary: Although I was able to establish an initial bridgehead, the crossing proved to be a much more difficult task. I was fortunate that I was able to clear my left flank of armor and AT guns, but Ace had my right side sealed up tight, and I was unable to crack it. It would have taken the mother of all smoke screens to get my boys and especially my armor across that bridge safely. Only in the confusion and with massive numbers could I have taken out his ambush. It was deadly. The terrain was troublesome as well and I immobilized four vehicles trying to get to the roads. A tough scenario.

V/R

Ace and SkeeterBee

[Incognito]

Well since there were quitters in the other 2 tourneys howabout if we give a change to all those who are willing to continue...?

1 more pair or so cant hurt much?

cool arr btw

[SkeeterBee]

If it goes that way, I'd like to put my name in the hat.

[Ace Pilot]

Originally posted by SpaceHamster:

Well since there were quitters in the other 2 tourneys howabout if we give a change to all those who are willing to continue...?

1 more pair or so cant hurt much?

I'd be in favor of that. I was even going to suggest replaying the last round with scenarios that were more balanced.

What does everyone else think?

[Cpl Carrot]

Alright folks, the finals battles ahve been emailed to the opponents. If you fail to hear from someone let me know, and I will see what I can do.

My sincere apoligies to those who have been waiting for them.

As for replaying the last round - it is not going to happen. This tourny has gone on long enough and I would like to get it wrapped up. I am not brushing my hands of anything - I just want to move on. If I was then I would not have sent out the final battles

Robert

[SkeeterBee]

Hey Robert. Just wanted to thank you again for all the work you've put into this. The tourny and the scenarios have been a blast. I'm sure I speak on behalf of everyone that's participated. Good luck everybody!

Skeeter.

PS: Go get 'em Ace!

[Pzman]

Hello all. There are a few reasons why the scenarios Counter Stroke and Remulak were not balanced. Counter Stroke and Remulak were not originally meant to be for the tournament, but were sent in because we were moving on to CMBB battles and didn't have any new CMBO battles in the works. Sorry about that guys. Just to let you know the battles for the last round were made for the tournament so they should be more even.

[ May 10, 2003, 07:55 PM: Message edited by: Panzerman ]

[Webs]

My ISP is acting up this week and is slow on the receiving end. It may take me a bit longer to respond than expected.

Just a FYI.

[Len]

My ISP is acting up this week

I'm assuming you're still having problems.

Let me know if you can't find the moves I sent -

wiltz_01d and onelastpush_01c.

Regards, Len

[Cpl Carrot]

How are we going gentlemen?

[Ace Pilot]

My set up for Wiltz was sent to SpaceHamster last night.

[Webs]

Len and I are on turn 12 or 13 of both scenarios.

[GWDWD]

Going back to the last round (where I met my demise... again...) for a sec, I don't know that it was the unbalanced scenarios so much as the fact that my opponent was a Finnish bouncer. Seriously.

I mean, c'mon... How is THAT fair?

Thanks all, I had a fun time.

Guy

[Munter]

Originally posted by GWDWD:

I don't know that it was the unbalanced scenarios so much as the fact that my opponent was a Finnish bouncer. Seriously.

I mean, c'mon... How is THAT fair?

Thanks all, I had a fun time.

Guy

M

[ May 23, 2003, 09:18 AM: Message edited by: Munter ]

[Len]

Just had the walloping of a lifetime from Webs...

I'm just off out to buy Bubble Bobble or something similar.

<sigh>

Len

[Webs]

How far along is everyone else?

[Incognito]

This is getting annoying.

-Ace :confused: