Russian Training Scenario 401

[Der Alte Fritz]

Having played quite a bit more of CMBB I thought I would have a go with this one.

Result was a minor defeat

axis allied

men 118 295

casulaties 114 143

KIA 35 41

mortars 2

guns 1

pillbox 1

vehicles 1 5

Flags 0 0

Enemy cas 998 715

prisoners 9

score 58% 42%

I was quite pleased with this result!

Main thrust of the infantry advance was straight through the woods in the middle and into the village. Got hammered by artillery and lost best part of two platoons but by the last move had about 2 platoons in rubble outside the flag building with two sections in the building trying to kill the last lone German in there. MG had surrendered. Put a reinforced platoon on the flank with a tank and an MG and a mortar and they were quite successful as they knocked out the MG in the trench, killed the AT gun and kept most of the rest pinned down for most of the game. Lost one T-34 as the German armour came onto the map but got a side shot at 550m on one StuG and immobilised it. Managed to keep the 2 remaining T-34 alive until the last moves of the game and they fired in support of the infantry. Got one well forward and he destroyed the pillbox. But the remaining StuG got them in the end as I tried to kill him with one tank in the centre and one in the woods on the right flank but range was too great to kill the StuG. Final tank died on the last move trying to help the infantry storm the flag building. Artillery was centred on the flag building with 120mm mortars on the left and right flank woods.

Really wish I could win one of these scenarios one day!

cheers

[ August 15, 2006, 08:26 AM: Message edited by: Der Alte Fritz ]

[Sigrun]

Nice little write-up.

[JasonC]

One comment - you say at one point that the range was too great to kill the StuG. It always is, all the way down to point blank. Only a flank shot kills them.

In 401 you have T-34s but the German armor reinforcements are StuGs, which are quite strong against them. They key is to expend all the T-34 HE on German infantry targets. The StuGs can't come close to doing comparable damage to your own infantry, because you have much greater number and they have a lot less HE to toss.

You want the StuGs maneuvering for shots on your T-34s instead of the other way around. If or when they advance, go for a flank. If they hang back, just keyhole your T-34s and kill infantry. You own infantry can try to hurt them with ATRs and DCs, but don't count on doing it rapidly. They get a lot more vulnerable after their ammo dries up...

[Der Alte Fritz]

Yes the armour war went pretty much as you explained it. Basing my ideas on 400, I thought a couple of PzIIIJ might show up but that there would be a couple of AT guns in the village. So I set one T-34 to overwatch the road, one to follow the troops up the centre and the other to go over on the right flank to kill the pillbox but kept them well back behind the infantry. German armour arrived and killed the overwatch T-34 immediately and had the centre on targeted, so the flank one popped out and KO a StuG with a track hit at 550m. He then knocked out the pillbox, flank MGs and started to chew up the interior of the village while sitting on the road in the wood. The centre one crept around the clumps of pines and knocked out a couple of infantry positions in buildings but could not get a shot at the MG in the flag house due to smoke. So he drove forward amoung the houses. It was during this that we had a second skirmish with the remaining StuG on the back of the map and the flank T-34 got killed. The centre T-34 finally killed the MG in the house but was hit on the last turn.

I agree that I should have worked the T-34 harder so that the infantry were further forward earlier and so the final assault could go in straight after the 122mm barrage on move 25 on the flag house.

cheers

[Barkhorn1x]

These Training Scenarios sound interesting. Where does on D/L?

Thanks,

Barkhorn.

[Jamm0r]

www.blowtorchscenarios.com

[Barkhorn1x]

Thanks JammOr - that's twice this week you've helped me. Seems like I owe you a $1 or something.

Barkhorn.