Fire on the Mountain

[White4]

Hello all, finally got around to this topic:

Even though I lost, it was a good close game, tearing my hair out and making me do desperate, stupid things.

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Originally posted by Holien:

I think White4 would have done better to hide his troops to the last moment and mowed my men down as I tried to breach the hedge line.

However, I think the troop quality might have not allowed him to do this?

H

That is exactly what happened. I knew that gerbils have a lot of close range fire power, so I put my greens upstairs to hopefully fire at greater than 80m range and pin your guys coming down the mountain sides.

I was also confused by the briefing and the discussion on the forum about the supply column- I thought that the reinforcments were going to come in on the road behind Lucio. Boy, what a disaster that came out to be!

The game to me was one unending sucession of german guns casually knocking out the green french arty and mortars, blithely unaware that the french are trying to hit them in return. I believe that the only reason Holiens guns stopped is becasue they ran out of ammo.

He rousted me out of Lucio quickly, even with a mounted platoon and a shermie reinforcing. I then pounded Lucio flat with the 155mm, and was trying to get near it at the end.

Lost one tank and two halftracks trying to get to the germans side of the hill, in order to engage his infantry moving accross open ground. Dang RCLs!

The Hill was where I lucked out. Apparently a german platoon was rushing up the side of the hill, but my frenchies are too busy soiling there pants to take notice. My air support rolls in though, and no more german platoon.

The rockets were a minor annoyance, that was all. It did scare me for a second, when my 155 FO, with most of his ammo still intact, took a casualty!

[Holien]

Hi White4...

Good point about the defence of the village.

I guess that approach was a valid one if you did not know I had some guns to help support the attack.

I think the key to my gun survival until they ran out of ammo was the placement. I took several hours of thought to place them and ensure that it was not an easy shoot back at me. I think that was bourne out by their survival.

That air support was the worst experience of it I have ever had. To lose a whole platoon to two bombs at such a key stage was devastating.

I was lucky that I held you off on your push to my Major flag. The 1/2 track and tank rush had me panicking and I was pleased that I had placed my guns well to stop you in your tracks.

If you had got through I had sod all there to defend the place and you could have walked right in.

A great game and I think we had equal amounts of luck.

H

[Kanonier Reichmann]

That reminded me H. In my game I had an imposing defence of the German main flag consisting of a previously broken crew of 5 men. Still, at least they had some pistol ammo!

Regards

Jim R.

[JonS]

Fire on the Mountain – German AAR

Location: Western Alps near the French and Italian border

Date: Dawn, 8th April 1945

Weather: Clear, Dry

Type: German attack

Length: 25 Turns

Forces: Mixed Gebirgsjagers, SS, and Volks Grenadiers vs. French Army

Allies: “von Lucke”

Axis: Jon “JonS” Sowden

Situation: An interesting situation. I have a mixed bag of German forces, heavy on direct fire support weapons. The mission is to attack the French positions in order to seize some important ground, and disrupt a supply convoy.

Ground: The map has received widespread acclaim. It certainly is very intricate, and also rather large. However, as with most large maps it is readily apparent that large tracts of this map will never be used. Furthermore, due to the extreme relief of the terrain, large tracts are inaccessible, or impassable.

Basically, we start on either side of the main east-west road that runs down the valley. On this road are Lucio and Hill 249, both places that I have been directed to take. Further across the valley are Ville du Schalburg (VdS), and even further back is Camporeale.

Friendly Forces: Initially I have two companies (+), and many support weapons. The main groupings are as follows:

· Ambush Force – 1 x Gebirgs pn + 1 x ‘shreck

· Hill 249 Force – 3 x Gebirgs pn + 1 x ‘shreck

· Firesupport 1 – Coy HQ + 210mm Rkt FOO + 81mm Mtr FO + 2 x 81mm Mtrs + 1 x 105mm RCL

· MMG Pn – Coy HQ + 4 x HMG

· Firesupport 2 – Pn HQ + 75mm IG

· Firesupport 3 – Coy HQ + 75mm IG + 75mm RCL + 120mm Mtr FOO + 2 x HMG

· Lucio Force – 3 x Voksgrenadier Pn + 1 x LMG (one pn plus LMG to set up as firesupport)

After about quarter of an hour some SS troopies and a 20mm AA gun will arrive near Lucio.

Enemy Forces: The briefing is fairly explicit on what to expect in the way of French forces, and where to expect them. I like to see this level of detail – and it doesn’t need to be very specific as to exact forces – as it greatly assists in developing a realistic plan.

It appears there is a rifle pn and a spt pn on Hill 249. Lucio holds the rest of a company – two rifle pns, plus some more spt wpns. To the rear in VdS is a mech pn and an armd pn. Also, there are other, heavier, spt wpns in the area.

Somewhere around turn 7 a convoy of French will turn up. Based on typical US/French TOE, and force balance within this scenario, I expect this convoy to consist of 3 trucks, one jeep, one rifle pn, and an M8 scout car.

Incidentally, there was, IMO, a fairly serious breach of FOW on the forums regarding the exact location and timing of the French convoy.

Plans: I develop a three phase plan with four objectives.

· Objectives:

. . Obj 1: Hill 249

. . Obj 2: Lucio

. . Obj 3: Camporeale

. . Obj 4: VdS

· Phases:

. . Phase 1: Secure Objs 1 and 2 simultaneously

. . Phase 2: Secure Obj 3 with an attack from Obj 2, while holding on Obj 1

. . Phase 3: Secure Obj 4 with simultaneous advance from Obj 1 and 3

. Timings:

. . Turn 1: order mortar smoke on Obj 1 to obscure observation while assault pns move into position. 1 x HMG to fire on likely spots on Obj 1.

Direct 2 x 81mm mtr plus 75mm RCL plus 2 x HMG plus 1 x LMG onto likely targets on Obj 2. Start moving VG pns to Obj 2.

Order 210mm rkt fire onto VdS.

. . Turn 2: Continue smoke and fire onto Objs 1 and 2. Start moving Gebirgs pns towards Obj 1 (delayed start in order to allow smoke screen to develop). Unhide VG pn on firesupport to engage targets in Lucio.

. . Turn 3: Start assault on Obj 2. Switch on board mortars firing at Lucio from HE to smoke.

. . Turn 5: Start assault on Obj 1.

. . Turn 7: French convoy arrives and is defeated by ambush force and HMG pn.

. . Turn 10: Objs 1 and 2 secure. Gebirgs pns to set up defence on Hill 249. VG Pns to prep and commence movement on Obj 3.

. . Turn 15: Reinforcements arrive vic. Lucio, and start moving on Obj 3.

. . Turn 18: Obj 3 secure.

. . Turn 19: Forces on Objs 1 and 3 prep for and commence movement on Obj 4.

. . Turn 25: Obj 4 secure.

There is a lot of distance to cover, and some fairly stiff fights are likely, especially on the objectives. As a result timings are very tight throughout this plan, but especially if the first two objectives are not secured quickly. However, I intend to remain flexible with regard to seizing objectives 3 and 4 – they are not strictly required by my orders, so if I cannot achieve them it is no great loss.

Turn 1: Straight away I am faced with a surprise – there are two Shermans on the open slope in front of VdS. I target them with 2 HMGs to button them up, and the 105mm RCL to knock them out. I contemplate leaving them alone since I don’t want to reveal the RCL this early, and the range is long and accuracy low since the time of flight is on the order of 3 seconds, but I figure I should at least have a go at them while they are in this tempting position, and the targets being stationary should improve my chances of a hit. Otherwise, I stick to the plan.

And what do you know! By the end of the turn one of the Shermans is on fire, and I have suffered no loss. I also see some infantry moving about in VdS – they are in for a surprise when the rockets arrive there in about 3 minutes.

Turn 2: w00t! The other Sherman is knocked out. In other news, two MGs have been spotted on Hill 249, which is now shrouded in smoke. In Lucio six enemy units have been seen, and two of the large buildings are on fire as a result of my direct fire. French mortar rounds – probably 60mm – are falling around my two guns providing fire support on Lucio. In addition, a spotting round of what looks like 81mm mortar has fallen near the two VG pns forming up for the assault on Lucio. That could really mess up my assault if it catches them bunched. This is made more likely, since Lucio is very compartmented by the high hedges (bocage) within and around the village. I want to maximise the shock action on small sections of the village in sequence, but this requires me to bunch up a bit – and hence my worry about the artillery coming their way.

The two Shermans were hull down behind a wall. Von Lucke said in an email that he had forgotten about the RCLs that the Gebirgs get, and it has cost him dearly. I expect to lose the 105mm RCL to return mortar firesoon, but since it has taken out those two tanks so early I feel it is a good trade. The loss of those two tanks must be a bitter pill for him, but I wonder where the others are – the briefing mentions a pn, so he must still have two or three in reserve.

Turn 3: With all the enemy activity spotted in Lucio, I have retargeted everyone from firing blind into buildings to firing at definite targets. The VGs are starting to toil up the hill into Lucio – I must win fire superiority here or they will be cut to shreds as they climb the hill. I haven’t suffered an casualties here yet though, so the suppression appears to be working.

I have lost both the 75mm guns that were providing direct fire into Lucio to French mortars, though realistically, that was only to be expected – guns are fragile.

On Hill 249 I have targeted an 81mm mortar, the 105mm RCL, and two HMGs. The Gebirgs pns are starting to move into their FUP at the base of Hill 249, and should be ready to go in about two minutes. Von Lucke seems to be pulling his forces back off the summit of 249, which is all to the good as far as I’m concerned.

The 210mm rockets have started landing in VdS, and though extremely scattered, I think I’ve scored a couple of good hits.

I have identified a French fire-support base across the valley from Lucio, so I will send a few 120mm mortar rounds in there to break it up.

Turn 4: I make it into the first building in Lucio just ahead f the French artillery. In this first building is an eliminated French HQ, which upon examination turns out to be ‘green’. Yippee – this mightn’t be too hard after all.

The 105mm RCL is leading a charmed life – it is positioned on the knife edge of a ridge, so anything that misses, misses by miles. Oh – speaking of RCLs, I just found a second one, about halfway between the charmed one and the HMG pn. I had completely overlooked that during setup! Damn this complex map. As a result I do a very careful scout around to make sure that I haven’t overlooked anyone else! I will keep this gun hidden until later – fresh forces late in the game are always useful.

The rocket barrage of VdS is over. Of the 40 rounds, a bit less than half were useful. At least one enemy unit had a round land virtually on their heads, and was eliminated. In addition, two buildings were reduced to rubble.

Of more concern, von Lucke has divined my approach routes to Hill 249, and has artillery falling on both of them. Like the barrage on the units attacking Lucio, this is a real concern.

Turn 5: The two VG pns are starting to spread out into Lucio, one going clockwise, one going anti-clockwise. I’m spotting loads of units now – it certainly looks like 2 pns (+). He has dragged his arty fire onto the first row of houses, which I’m occupying, and it is starting to cost me – both in terms of casualties, and in pinned/panicked. Still, I have enough to be going on with. In addition to the artillery, he is using at least two 60mm mortars to liven things up.

My pns approaching Hill 249 managed to sprint out of the way of both barrages without loss, and are now starting to climb and clear the hill.

Amazingly, the 105mm RCL is still alive! At a quick count about 60 HE rounds of various calibres have been fired at it. von Lucke has started to use smoke now, which should be more effective – at least in the short term.

Turn 6: The firefight in Lucio is getting gruesome. We’re both throwing an awful lot of HE in there. I think I’ve broken two of his squads, and of the ones I can properly see (three of 12) I’ve inflicted 17 casualties, in addition to the pn HQ. So, that’s one of his two pns at half strength. I’ve lost 19 men from my break-in force, but his sections are larger than mine, making eliminating them that much tougher.

I’ve spotter two ‘light gun’ markers. One is on the east flank of Hill 249, the other is across the road on high ground to the NE.

Turns 7: The French convoy arrives, right on schedule. I have excellent observation of them from the HMG battery up on the ridge, and can see a full rifle company mounted in trucks and halftracks, three jeeps, and an M20. This is significantly more than I had expected, and I’m feeling suddenly very vulnerable with the few forces I have to oppose them – a few HMGs and a single pn. The good news is that they are all green. I had been tempted to call in some arty on this area, since I knew where and when they would be arriving, but managed to resist that gamey temptation.

Initial losses have been surprisingly light. He has dismounted most of the company, and everyone is engaging the single HMG that has LOS to their entry point. Its quite disturbing seeing all those targeting lines focussing in on the MG, but they don’t seem to be able to do much more than pin my brave men. A single truck tried to break out down the road, but this was stopped by the detached half-squad I had at the corner as early warning. Now these guys and the French section off the back of the truck are fighting it out.

At Lucio my two assault pns have been shredded, and half the town remains in French hands. He also seesm to be rushing his reserve pn from VdS over to Lucio in halftracks. Well, that pn is off somewhere, and in my estimation Lucio is the most likely destination.

On Hill 249 I continue to make progress under scattered HE fire. I should clear the crest next turn.

Turns 8-9: The convoy is getting gratifyingly carved up. Several of the trucks have been knocked out, and the French infantry seem to be having trouble sorting their act out. The halftracks are directing a terrifying amount of lead at the HMG pn on the ridge above them, but their fire is being singularly ineffective – so far I haven’t lost a single man there. A third French Sherman has sortied out of VdS and moved down to help extricate the convoy.

On Hill 249 I have cleared the summit, at the cost of a squad who routed and ran directly towards the enemy. Needless to say, they didn’t last long, and after such foolish AI behaviour I’m not too sorry to see them go. One of my pns is clearing the summit and right flank of the hill, while the other curls around the left flank of the hill to take the position from the side/rear. The third pn is in reserve, moving up the rear of the hill. There seems to be a rifle pn dug in on the rear slopes of the hill, so this should be a stiff fight. Adding to my woes is yet more French artillery, starting to fall on my left hand pn.

Also spotted on the left flank was a light gun, promptly despatched by the 75mm IG from the Firesupport 2 position.

The battle for Lucio has taking an appalling turn – of the two initial pns I have barely 10 men left, and have been routed right out of the buildings I had. The third pn is approaching the first houses, which fortunately don’t appear to have been re-occupied. However, the French reserve of a pn mounted in halftracks has raced forward from VdS and is poised to enter Lucio from the north by the trail.

Both of the 105mm RCLs are coming under fire, and both crews are gamely sticking to their tasks. The first to open fire – from the Firesupport 1 position – is now down to two crew members, and its rate-of-fire has suffered accordingly, but their morale remains good.

Turns 10-13: von Lucke must have realised that the attack on Lucio had come badly unstuck, since he moved his reserve pn away, to a position behind Hill 249. This was fortunate for me since it allowed me to get the last pn established in the town, although they too have taken a beating from the French artillery and fearsome close-range firepower. I have had to call forward the Coy HQ to take over command as all the Pn HQs have fallen. Any thoughts of pushing on from here to Objectives 3 and 4 are gone now, in fact I will be lucky to secure Objectives 1 and 2 (Hill 249 and Lucio).

This is made even clearer to me by the parlous state of the Gebirgs company attacking Hill 249 – they have been caught in the open by French artillery, bombed effectively by a ground attack aircraft, and pinned down by the massed fire of the Halftrack MGs from the convoy. My men are in a very bad way, though they continue to cling, just, to the summit, hiding out in a couple of old French foxholes. While the failed attack at Lucio at least has the prospect of some reinforcements to liven it up again, Hill 249 is so central that there is no practical way for fresh forces to reach this area. Unless the Gebirgsjaegers can rally where they are I will probably lose this hill, and could also lose control of Sesto San Giovanni to the rear.

I have taken a calculated risk with Sesto since the start of the battle. Having insufficient forces to garrison it and mount an attack, I chose to leave it empty, planning to move some spare units there later to secure the flag. However, with the French seemingly about to gain the initiative I am concerned that they will mount a raid up the track to Sesto to secure the town and its flag. In order to delay any such thrust I had been moving a ‘shreck team to an ambush position covering the track, but after the fighter bomber had dropped its eggs on the Gebirgsjaegers, it turned its attention on the two-man ‘shreck team, toiling across the map, killing one of them and panicking the other. As a result the track will remain effectively unguarded for several turns yet.

More promisingly, the convoy has been thoroughly routed. Nearly all the wheeled transport has been knocked out, and the French infantry are streaming off towards VdS in a state of serious disarray. This is extremely fortunate, since a fresh French rifle company could fairly well clean up the feeble forces I have left in Lucio and on the Hill.

The French continue to try and eliminate my 105mm RCLs, and continue to be unsuccessful, though the two guns are now down to crews of two and three. I have been using these guns to target some French guns sighted on the high ground across the road from Lucio, and have succeeded in knocking one of them out.

Turns 14-17: The reinforcements arrive adjacent to Lucio, and it is much more substantial than I had reason to believe – there are two pns of SS Rifles, a 20mm AA gun a kubelwagen, two HMGs and a ‘shreck. This bunch score a quick success when they destroy a halftrack behind Lucio, along with a ‘zook team, and send the rifle section scampering back to the north. I send the two pns south around the base of hill upon which Lucio sits, with the mission of taking over from the devastated VG company and clearing Lucio. On the way to the initial break-in they are strafed by the fighter-bomber, losing a few men and quite a bit of cohesion.

Against the odds, I seem to be prevailing on Hill 249. I have eliminated one French squad, and have reduced two others to four and five men respectively. I haven’t seen the Pn HQ yet, and there is at least one other odd unit hiding on the reverse slope near the gun that was knocked out. Due to the firepower that von Lucke can bring to bear on ‘his’ side of the hill I do not want to risk moving forward from my current positions with such reduced forces, so instead choose to dig in to the various foxholes and craters I hold. Encouraging me towards this approach is the pn that he has dismounted behind Hill 249, which will no doubt be moving up to reclaim the hill. It is probably worth noting here that of the 102 men who started the assault on this hill, only 37 remain unwounded, but of those 20 are currently panicking or routing. Not really a premium case of tactical finesse on my part.

The firing around the convoy has died down due to a lack of fruitful targets. The HMG Pn have instead shifted their attention onto some Frenchmen moving down the slope from VdS towards Hill 249. With concentrated fire they manage to slow down this movement significantly, although they cannot completely stem it.

I have received another batch of reinforcements that I wasn’t expecting – a PnHQ in command of an HMG and a 210mm rocket spotter. These guys have arrived in the middle of the map, and I am at a bit of a loss as to what they are doing there. I assume that the spotter represents the second reload of the Nebelwerfer battery in support of this battle, but the other guys teleporting in there are a bit odd. Also, they are on a ridge just north-east of the Firesupport 2 position, and being surrounded by cliffs there aren’t many places they can go. I move the spotter and the HMG north along the ridge, looking for a position from which they can support Hill 249. The Pn HQ I give a single long-range movement order towards Sesto. I am hoping that the automatic route finding algorithm will find a path down the cliffs that I cannot see.

Turns 18-20: The SS Rifles make it into Lucio and start clearing the village again. I am not going to make the mistake of splitting my pns again, and keep them together in a solid wedge, moving clockwise around the edge of the village. Von Lucke starts to reinforce Lucio with some odds and ends he has scrapped together from the ambushed convoy loaded onto halftracks. I have the 20mm AA gun set up to cover at least part of the road over which they travel, but annoyingly the AA gunners are more interested in a French MG team up on a ridge. Everytime I give them orders to engage the Halftrack – which the 20mm can easily make mincemeat of, they ignore those orders and continue to waste their rounds on the MG. Sounds like good grounds for some summary justice to me.

Von Lucke also tries to reinforce Lucio with his third and last Sherman. What ensures is a rather humorous, low-speed, running gun battle. As soon as the tank emerges from around behind Hill 249 my two 105mm RCLs start targeting it, but with their reduced crews their rate of fire is only one or two rounds each per minute. If the Sherman ignored those guns it could easily sprint the gap between Hill 249 and Lucio. Instead, it keeps stopping to engage the guns. I think this infuriates von Lucke – each turn the tank starts moving again, as if it has been given new orders, then stops, swings its turret back towards the guns and fires off a few ineffective shots. Finally, at a range of about 1200m, one of the RCLs manages to loop a round onto the rear deck of the Sherman, knocking it out. Huzzah for the RCLs!

The Pn HQ from the last batch of reinforcements I received wasn’t able to find a route down to Sesto, so it rejoins the HMG and spotter. The spotter has targeted the dead ground behind Hill 249, and the rounds are due to start falling next turn. There is some significant risk here, as the beaten zone for nebelwefers is so large that my tattered remnants up on the hill could find themselves the victims of friendly fire.

The ‘shreck has finally made it into position on the track up to Sesto, though he is exhausted from his exertions following the strafing attack. Luckily the French don’t seem to have perceived my weakness in this area, and no thrust up the track appears imminent.

Up on Hill 249 my plucky band of surviving Gebirgsjaegers are still holding on, and most of them have rallied, significantly increasing my effective strength there – not a moment too soon either, as fresh French forces are starting to appear from the rear.

The French convoy has moved completely out of the ambush area now. That leaves me with a nearly full strength pn by the river, with not much to do. They are surrounded by open ground dominated by French fire, so they need to stay in cover. However, that severely restricts their options. In the end I decide to send them towards the west edge of the map where they may be able to mop up the odd crew or unwary vehicle.

Turns 21-23: The rocket attack works a treat. As usual most of the rounds fall harmlessly, but at least two strike home. One knocks out a half-track, while the other airbursts in some trees on the only route up Hill 249 from the French side. I hear from von Lucke that this round devastated a pn that was moving up, pretty much nullifying the threat to my forces left up on the summit. I shuffle these forces around a little to maximise what combat power I do have left in case a counter-attack does materialise.

The SS Rifles clear two more tall buildings while the RCLs destroy the last two-story residences under French control. With all the high hedges compartmenting this village, this gives me a significant advantage in terms of observation and concealed movement. By the end of turn 23 the French defences in Lucio are in some disarray, while my SS blokes are forming up to clear the last of the village.

In a rather sneaky move I reposition the 75mm IG at Firesupport 2 about 20m to their left. From there they can see the last French gun on the high ground across from Lucio – and with a couple of well placed rounds they knock it out.

The 20mm AA gun again chooses to harass the MG team rather than brass up some halftracks moving away from Lucio. I again get frustrated by this incompetence and insubordination.

At the end of Turn 23, finally, a pair of French halftracks start moving up the track towards Sesto – they have so far to go that even without the meagre opposition I have in their way they will be hard pushed to get there in time.

Turn 24: These two halftracks come racing up the track and the 75mm IG at Firesupport 2 engages the leading one. At a range of 604m it opens fire with a hollow charge round. The round travels so slowly that the Halftrack has advanced 18m by the time it arrives, to land squarely on the armoured front windshield, penetrating into the fighting compartment! Incredible shooting!

Equally incredible is the freak chance that somehow saves the halftrack from instant incineration. It shrugs off the hit and continues on its way towards Sesto. The gun fires its last three hollow charge rounds at the halftrack, but of course it cannot match its initial accuracy. The halftracks luck runs out 26 seconds and 150m later though when it blithely drives into the ‘shrecks ambush zone. The ‘shreck gunner doesn’t miss with his first round either, and the vehicle and its passengers are quickly despatched. The end of the turn arrives with the lone ‘shreck gunner frantically trying to load his last round as the second halftrack enters the ambush zone.

In Lucio the SS Rifles spend the turn preparing themselves for the last push to gain control of the village while the 105mm RCLs and the HMG Pn lay on some suppressive fire.

On Hill 249 the Gebirgsjagers have a quiet time under some ineffective long range MG fire. By the end of the turn they can see more French infantrymen struggling up the path where the airburst occurred and massing on the reverse slope.

Its going to be an interesting last turn with key actions near Sesto, on Hill 249, and in Lucio.

Turn 25: The ‘shreck operator manages to reload, but before he can fire he is fired on by the halftrack. He is still very nervous after the traumatic encounter with the fighter-bomber, and this fire rattles him so much that he breaks and runs while the halftrack speeds off towards Sesto. However, the ever-faithful 105mm RCLs have been tracking it while the reduced crew frantically reloads their gun. At 540m they fire, and score yet another first round hit, ending the threat to Sesto.

On Hill 249 the French come storming up to the summit, but it is too late – they are driven to ground by my reduced company and are unable to secure it. They are able, however, to make the flag contested.

In Lucio there is a similar result. My SS rifles come storming through the high hedge towards the suppressed Frenchmen, meeting very little return fire. At this stage of the battle the French seem more concerned with surviving than winning, and most of the squads break and run. Enough of them stick to their task, though, to leave the issue in doubt, and here too the flag stays contested.

Conclusion: When the field falls silent it appears that I have won a minor victory. This is a great result, as after my initial attacks on both Lucio and Hill 249 failed I expected to be on the receiving end of a severe thumping.

Allied Attacker . . . . . . . . Axis Defender

213 casualties (45 KIA) . . 278 casualties (69 KIA)

2 guns destroyed. . . . . . . 3 guns destroyed

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 mortars destroyed

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 vehicles knocked out

Men OK: 208. . . . . . . . . . Men OK: 291

Score: 58. . . . . . . . . . . . . Score: 37

Global Morale: 49. . . . . . . Global Morale: 43

My initial plan was, I think, a good one, but I executed those first attacks very poorly – insufficient recon, and too much bunching, which left me prey to the French artillery. Fortunately I realised early on that Phases 2 and 3 were out of reach, and concentrated on at least achieving Phase 1. Of course, I wasn’t able to fully achieve that either, but I got close enough, and inflicted enough casualties, to win the day.

Notes: I started off being rather impressed with this scenario, but my enthusiasm waned as the fight rolled on. The briefings are excellent, and technically, the map is very nice. The force composition is pretty good too. However, there were some elements which did annoy me about it:

1. The map. While technically very pretty, there are numerous problems with it.

a. Firstly, it is probably too big – the distances to be covered between the objectives is just too far for a single scenario of this length. This ties in with points two and three.

b. There are too many cliffs compartmenting the map and restricting movement. The use of cliffs and slopes is fine to restrict the movement of units around the map, but in this case whole chunks of the map are cut off, and for the German player reinforcement between Hill 249 and Lucio is a practical impossibility as there is no route other than along the road.

c. The orientation is all wrong. Military forces tend to fight along the length of valleys, rather than across them - which is what this scenario portrays. This is because modern armies need to follow roads to allow re-supply. The silliness of this setup is demonstrated by the arrival of the respective reinforcements – they arrived at either end of the same road, and in both cases between the opposing forces, rather than behind friendly lines.

2. Arising from the size of the map and its complexity, the fights in this scenario became very disjointed – effectively there were three separate and independent battles going on – Lucio, Hill 249, and the ambush. One could almost consider the long range support weapon fire to be a fourth separate battle.

3. 25 turns is simply too short for a map and a battle this big. On a simpler map it might have been ok, but this one is so complex that the German player really has to rush to get things done. When battles are rushed, results rely more than they should on luck rather than skill, and a tournament should be about skill, not luck.

4. Finally, and as a general rule, I do not like to see reinforcements arrive under the gun. This happened to both von Lucke’s convoy, and my guys a few turns later. In the case of the convoy it is partially acceptable since they were supposed to be ambushed anyway, but the SS guys and the AA gun should have arrived around a bend in the road, or behind a hedge, or something. The arrival of the second group of reinforcements in the middle of the map was an unheralded mystery.

[ October 02, 2002, 09:19 PM: Message edited by: JonS ]

[Heavy Drop]

FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN AAR

Heavy Drop (Allies) vs. Jeb (Axis)

The French briefing spoke of re-supply (wine & cheese), Germans to the south, and gave the impression of just another day at the forgotten front. The nonchalant, almost cavalier, way it was presented was a great touch of attitude by the writer. It set the stage for what was about to befall this unstressed section of the war.

The OOB for the Allies was a mixed bag of primarily untested leg infantry, a sprinkling of regular infantry, a drop of veterans, a tank section (+), enough half-tracks to move a platoon, mortar & artillery support, and two anti-tank guns. The mission of these forces was essentially to hold what they had, counter any enemy move, and get the expected supply convoy’s cargo to safety.

Key terrain was identified the villages of Lucio and Ville du Schalburg, and a bridge that the convoy must cross to move swiftly to safety. The unnamed hills southeast of Camporeale, and west of Ville du Schalburg, were also deemed as key terrain. Hill 249 was identified as decisive terrain. Addition victory locations consisted of the villages of Sesto San Giovanni and Camporeale, not to mention the point value assigned to the ‘cargo’ being carried by the convoy (played by neutered green infantry squads).

The plan consisted of four primary actions:

1) Use the half-tracks, with tank support, to move a platoon of infantry down into the valley, secure the bridge, and provide additional protection/escort for the supply convoy. This force also had the on call mission of reinforcing the defenders on hill 249.

2) Defend hill 249.

3) Defend Lucio.

4) Defend Ville du Schalburg.

The plan graphic @

http://13815000.home.icq.com/

Initial deployment was made to support the above actions. The deployment zones limited task organization and options. This meant you had to either use what was available in each zone or setup with the intent to move quickly and, because of the size of the map, a great distance.

The plan didn’t last long – at least not as far as the convoy security force was concerned. Enroute to the bridge the half-tracks started taking fire from the ridgeline west of hill 249. I believed that I was fired upon by a force sent to attack hill 249, capture the eastern end of the bridge, or both. Either way, I was obliged to dismount and defend on the east side of the bridge.

Fortunately I had decided to put both arty observers (75 & 105mm) on the hill west of Ville du Schalburg and they had line-of-sight to what turned out to be German mountain troops. Within minutes I had the ridgeline covered with some fairly devastating fire. If not for the artillery my infantry would never had held. Even then I had one squad that constantly panicked and backed away. The MGs on the half-tracks were also vital.

During this action I attempted to maneuver the attached tank into a firing position to take out the German supporting weapons on the high ground. Although initially successful, it soon fell victim to a well placed gun on the mountain side overlooking the bridge area (how did they get it up there).

I was able to stop both attacks (hill 249 and bridge) but was kept pinned down by constant fire from the high ground to the south. I decided to seek cover and wait until the platoon recovered sufficient morale before attempting to cross the bridge.

As it turned out this may have been the most important decision of the battle. If I had pushed on across the bridge I would have prematurely tripped the ambush set to destroy the oncoming supply convoy. That may have changed the final outcome to my favor. Fate.

During this time the sky began falling over Lucio in the form of what appeared to be railcar-sized rockets. It was intense, and too much for many of the green troops. I think some are still running – crying like schoolgirls the whole way. Although big, loud and scary, the rockets showed their one weakness – unpredictable free flight dispersion. The result was that the troops positioned along the enemies attack route (south eastern side of the village) were totally unscathed and took a surprising toll on the attacking German regulars coming up out of the valley.

The attackers did recover quickly and began a relentless push that never again gave the French troops time or space in which to establish a new defensive line. An important note from my perspective was that it wasn’t until this second German attack that he opened up with guns, using direct fire, from the hills south of Lucio. The fire and destruction from these guns was quite impressive. All French forces were quickly driven from the village and sat shell-shocked at the foot of the steep slope north of the village, soiled and useless.

One of the brighter moments of the action around Lucio was the use of the concentrated 60mm mortar fire. A platoon leader with three 60mm mortars hidden on the hill to the north of Lucio caused most of the German casualties during that fight. This is a very effective technique against troops in the open and light buildings.

The next major action began with the arrival of the convoy on the western edge of the map. It arrived in road march formation with attached escorts dispersed within the column.

I believed that I had prevented the enemy from getting across the bridge and felt that it would be best to keep the mechanized infantry platoon in place on the east end of the bridge and race the convoy down the road, through this position, and into Ville du Schalburg. The only other movement option for the convoy was a meandering route through slow-go terrain that would keep them under observation and fire from the high ground for an interminable period of time. All vehicles in the convoy were given orders to move to the Ville at full speed.

The lead scout car and half-tracks of the convoy sped off and got safely across the bridge, but not without tripping an undiscovered ambush in the bend of the road west of the bridge. Only the speed of movement saved those first vehicles. The rest of the column however, fell victim to the breaking of a cardinal rule among mounted forces – never mix wheels and tracks in the order of march, and certainly not when speed is of the essence. The fourth vehicle in the column, a truck, hesitated, received fire, panicked and everything went to hell in a hand basket from there. The resultant traffic jam looked like something from a Keystone Cops movie. The hidden panzershreckts begin nonchalantly killing the knotted vehicles while small arms fired raked the dismounting, panicking troops. It was a very successful ambush.

The carnage seemed to last forever. Eventually though, the escorting infantry rallied enough to serve as bullet magnets while providing ineffective covering fire for the surviving ‘supply’ packages. The only immediate option was to get them into the woods north of the ambush site. Therefore, the universal command “Runaway!” was given and it was every man (or supply bundle) for himself. Thus began their long cross-country hike to try and reach safety. The non-responsive (broken) units became pop-up targets for whoever wanted to shoot at them. They died face down.

[Note: I found out later that the ambush site was part of the scenario design and that the enemy forces were there from the start. *Sigh* should have pushed on across that bridge.]

The remainder of the fight on the French right revolved around saving as many units as possible and getting them to the rear. Detachment to the area of one of the two surviving tanks, and harassing artillery fire, played large parts in salvaging a good portion of the supplies.

In the center, German mountain troops made another attempt to take hill 249 but were too few, too tired, and hit immediately with artillery and mortar fire. The French troops defending hill 249 had been moved to a reverse slope position and – although green and shaky – were in much better shape than their attackers.

On the left, an attempt was made to reinforce and reorganize the battered forces cowering below Lucio, but with very limited success. The over watching enemy guns controlled the area completely, and the only German reinforcements witnessed entering the fight joined the battle just outside of Lucio. The decision was made to wait until dark.

I offer my gratitude to the designers for an excellent scenario. The map was spectacular, the force mix challenging but playable, and the tactical choices very numerous. A great scenario is one that keeps you interested long after the fighting has ended. This one still hounds me as I keep going over the ‘what ifs’, ‘had I only’, ‘could he have stopped’, etc. I learned a lot from Jeb (my very capable axis opponent) about placement and use of guns in a direct support role, and maintaining the tempo of a ground assault. I immediately applied these lessons learned (with great success) in another ongoing tournament game – thanks Jeb. I just wish I had learned them before playing Frank (Cuzn’) in Polish Push.

[ October 03, 2002, 11:18 AM: Message edited by: Heavy Drop ]

[Vadr]

Fire on the Mountain AAR - Chuck "vadr" Grimes (German)

Setup -

As an old Infantryman, looking at this map made my knees hurt. Great map though. The briefing was excellent. I assume there is some faulty and/or missing intelligence in it, but I have still pretty much built my attack plan around it.

The big question is: when will the convoy arrive? Turn 1? I am not certain. I am not certain it will arrive at all. Nevertheless, I have made disposition to score as many points as possible on it if it does. I have moved an Inf gun and two 105mm RR well forward into the "convoy ambush" setup area. I've placed these heavy weapons where they can also cover Schalburg if and when the French begin moving from there (see below). These weapons are also in position to interdict any attempt to reinforce Hill 249 from Schalburg.

I left the Nebelwefer FO pretty much in his at-start position, moved the 2 81mm morars units and their platoon leader observer to a central position behind San Giovanni to support the attack on Hill 249 and again, interdict Schalburg. I moved one of the 81mm FO's to the cliff overlooking the road where the convoy is supposed to arrive. he has a good FOV to the Convoy Road, Schalburg, and Hill 249.

I made minor adjustments to the forces facing Lucio, moving the Infantry Company up to the edge of the woods in a 2-forward/1-back formation, and moving the Inf Gun to a central position where it can cover Lucio, Schalburg and the backside of Hill 249. I left the at-start platoon in San Giovanni and will advance 1 platoon against Hill 249 along the ridge holding 2 more in overwatch (one on the ridge, the other in town).

If the Convoy arrives turn 1 I expect a free-for-all to break out. I will conceal my forward-deployed heavy weapons as long as possible, hoping to kill some armor moving out of Schalburg. If the convoy does not arrive on turn one, I will launch a vigorous attack against Lucio from the southeast, covered by smoke to the south while the town is subject to direct and indirect fire from the Southwest. At the same time, I may wait a turn or two to begin my attack on Hill 249. My hope is that the French will deploy their armor from Schalburg to help the defenders of Lucio/Hill 249, and I can pick them off as they move to do that. I expect to hold both Lucio and Hill 249 at game end.

Turn 1 -

The forward gun placement worked out pretty well. 2 Shermans and a halftrack were killed in Schalburg. 3 more halftracks will probably be killed in turn 2. I lost a 75mm Inf gun in exchange. I have begun the assualt on Hill 249. Waiting on the arty to arrive at Lucio.

Turn 6 -

1 Half-track remains alive near Schalburg. I hope to kill it this turn. As I feared, the enemy artillery has been accurate and I've lost both of my 105mm RRs and an Inf gun; the price I pay for exposing them so early. Hill 249 seems lightly defended, but the enemy is in Lucio in force. To complicate matters, enemy mortars have been very tough on my 120mm FO. He's still in the game, but the artillery on Lucio has been delayed and that is retarding my assault some. I've shifted the Nebelwerfers onto that target but it's a blind shot and will take time to deliver. I'll also likely take some friendly fire casualties as well. C'est la Guerre.

Turn 7 -

Arrrgghh. AS I feared, the Convoy arrived this turn in all it's glorious juicyness, but I don't have a single heavy weapon left to bring to bear on it. Oh well, it's up to the Gebirgsjaeger platoon I put down there and the HMGs in their support. Things are going better in Lucio, I expect to take Hill 249 on turn 8.

Turn 10 -

Well, the slaughter of the Convoy has been fearful, even without the heavy weapons. My opponent had kept a Sherman 76 hidden all this time and ran it out to try and rescue the convoy. A very lucky Panzerfaust shot disposed of it. In Lucio, the house-to-house work progresses, it looks like I'll take the village. Hill 249 was *skillfully* defended and I've lost an entire assault platoon trying to take it. I've reconcentrated the artillery and pushed up the other 2 platoons. I think I'll get it, but at what cost? Enemy aircraft just overflew the battlefield, that's ominous...

Turn 15 -

Hill 249 is now in my hands, but the price has been fearful. The French retain a toehold in Lucio but that will not last long. The SS Arrived this turn. Enemy aircraft continue to circle the battlefield strafing the odd target but it's tough for them in this terrain. I expect now to finish taking Lucio and then I'll take a look at trying for Schalburg. Don't know if I'll try it yet, we'll see how the next few turns go.

Turn 23 -

Well I've called off the bid for Schalburg. My opponent has just exposed what appears to be at least of a Platoon of Infantry in the town and has deftly moved his remaining halftracks into a position to interdict my advance. I don't have time to manuever for the town so I believe I'll just hold up and be satisfied with taking the objectives specified in my brief (except for pounding Schalburg with arty. Why annoy the local girls when I'll soon have the town anyway?). My 20mm AAA covers the main road through the valley.

Result - Axis Minor victory

Conclusion -

This battle was decided in the first two turns when the majority of the Allied armor was killed. Without having to deal with those tanks and HTs, it was fairly easy to secure the objectives. My opponent fought skillfully, especially around Hill 249 and it would have been tough going if he'd had a little more force.

Not knowing when the convoy would arrive was a nice touch. I liked the map, the force balance; everything about this scenario. it was fun to play. I don't know if the allied setup was padlocked or not. If it was, that needs to be looked at because it exposes to many Allied assets to a forward German setup. If not, then I've no other comments or complaints.

[Juha Ahoniemi]

ROWII:The Boots & Tracks Brawl

Tournament 1, section 4

Fire on the mountain - AAR by Juha Ahoniemi

The_Capt (allied) vs. Juha Ahoniemi (Axis)

There are not enough superlatives to describe this map - it is a masterpiece. It is art.

Briefing is inspiring (although in general briefing was mentioned that gebirgsjägers surrendered in this very month! Not very encouraging...) and makes me almost drool to wait that convoy to get ambushed.

As I study the map and VLs , I draw few conclusions: A road leads to my main VL, Sesto san Giovanni. That may leave it vulnerable to quick mechanised attack. My solution is that I leave a platoon that was placed there in that location. I am not going to risk 300 point VL to some desperate gambit. I also place three of my onboard arty so that they have a LOS to the road. Also my mortars and 81mm mtr spotter have LOS to that road. My mortars are in woods in a hill (with some gebirgsjägers to protect them) South-West to hill 249 where is small 100 point VL - not worth of the possible cost of blood if I try to take it right away. No, that hill 249 will be the last target for me.

Then there is the "Lucio-setup zone". My attacking force is hiding mainly in rough and in scattered trees. I place a couple of MG's to woods, to open fire whatever may show itself in Lucio and draw some enemy arty (which they do - in great success!).

Rest of my forces are in ambush duty (although one platoon is placed a little higher, to keep the "flexibility" to plan and manouver as battle evolves).

I must mention my 81mm mortar spotter, I found a really sweet spot for him. He is located in tall pines slope near the "locked" HMG42 (which I order to move away - I dont want any lucky shot that is aimed to MG to kill my spotter!) and the LOS is phenomenal: almost every key location on the map!

My "task force Lucio" sneaks towards it's target and some men are assigned as scouts to get the enemy to show himself. My assault begins with bombardment by onmap guns&recoilles rifles and with 120mm offmap mortar and 81 mm offmap mortars. Then the 81mm fires a smokescreen as my attack pours in Lucio with full force. Casualtes are taken and given, but I manage to gain a foothold.

Meanwhile, my ambush isn't very succesful and four HT's and some trucks manage to slip away driving at full speed. Trucks meets their destiny by my HMG42s from a long distance as they are climbing towards Ville du Schalburg. Those escaped three HTs are coming to Lucio, bringing some squads. All three gets slain by my panzerfausts.(The remaining one will come to Lucio later and is knocked out with SS-HMG42 near the end) Those green teams are running away and the last thing that they hear is a cold and grim sound of schmeisser drillind bullets into their backs. War is hell...

On the ambush zone I manage to KO some vehicles that remained there. Some squads manage to escape to woods, and I have not enough forces to pursue them.

Enemy air force is a pest. first bombing to Lucio doesn't cause any harm, but then they bomb my "flexible" platoon near the ambush zone with catastrophical results. Later they harass my men in Sesto san Giovanni, too.

Briefing told that I must secure the area of Lucio that SS may come safely in turn 15. Well, Lucio was mine, but some tanks were rolling closer so I made a smokescreen to cover LOS to expected place. SS came, and so did enemy aircraft again! Verdammt! Another squad routed...

Of course my smoke screen vanished a bit too soon - the flak gun was destroyed by a sherman.

Oh, but I had some nebelwerfers, too. As I studied the map I saw no alternative but use them as ordered - Ville du Schalberg took some pain! To use those things enywhere else would have been a huge risk to blow my own troops to kingdom come.

As the action diminished at the ambush zone I decided to take a look at Ville du Schalburg...but there were not enough time to get there. My main purpose was to get some truck crews killed near Ville, no try to invade it. Not time for that, either.

But near the end I turned my eye on hill 249. I had fired some randow area MG fire there to see if anyone shoots back or something. (by this point all my onmap arty was kaputt) Task force contained almost in tact platoon plus company HQ. A couple of MGs could give some support. And I had some 20 rounds left with my 81 mm mortar spotter. There was not much troops to kill, so the conquering was easy - but keeping was hard! Enemy onboard arty&tanks routed almost my whole task force, but some managed to hide behind the wall and my goal was accomplished. VL was mine.

So was at Lucio. Very heavy casualties there on both sides, But I managed to keep that VL, too. With the convoy badly damaged and Ville du Schalburg damaged by nebelwerfers, my mission was succesful.

AFTER ACTION REPORT:

Axis Attacker:

136 casualties (27KIA)

1 mortar destroyed

6 guns destroyed

Men ok: 285

Score: 63

Allied Defender:

270 casualties (89KIA)

5 mortars destroyed

1 gun destroyed

16 vehicles knocked out

Men ok: 299

Score: 37

Axis Minor Victory

End of report.

Note to designers: I enjoyed this scenario very much. Keep up the good work! (maybe less that goddamn air power!)

[ October 03, 2002, 11:47 AM: Message edited by: Juha Ahoniemi ]

[jwxspoon]

Thanks to all of you guys for your AAR's. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about the battles.

jw

[ October 03, 2002, 05:53 PM: Message edited by: jwxspoon ]

[Holien]

Hi, Finally getting some time on the home PC and here is the AAR for those interested...

H

Set-up

I spent a long time looking at the map and trying to assess the best approach to my assault. This is a short game and the ability to assault the main French village Z and secondary flag at Village Y are not really an option.

This leaves the Hill and Village Lucio which are the main targets. If these are taken and held then the Germans will have a Major flag and two Minor vs. the French one Major and one Minor. So the main plan must be to take the two minor flags and hold them.

There is a bit of spice with the convoy Ambush and I did consider ignoring that but it might mean missing out on some free points so that becomes the third part of the plan. Now down to force allocation.

The defence of the Major flag is currently performed by a platoon of greisbergs and a top leader with some good bonuses. These men can be moved to any of the set-up zones or are fixed in place on the VL. I took the whole platoon and placed them in position to attack the village. The Intelligence about the village suggests at least two platoons of defenders and the current attack force is only three. By adding the mountain men that should help ensure I take that village.

The platoon in the Ambush position is reduced by a section, which is split. One half is tasked with holding the main German VL and the other half allocated to a company HQ. The Ambush position is set-up so that the remaining two squads are split and a HMG added with a Shreck. This will allow more targets to be engaged at lower FP, but if the Intel is right it will be multiple trucks and I want to blow those wheels ASAP and using multiple units should work better.

That is the plan and it could well fail, as it might be better to concentrate FP. However, I want to give the impression that there is a large force down in the valley so that I can draw off some of the Allied resources. If I have any forces left after the ambush then they will move along the valley floor to provide support on the attack on the hill. I also position a Mortar out of sight and a spotter HQ on the ridgeline above the road. I spend some time sighting them so that the mortar can provide smoke and HE support to the ambush force.

This leaves the force to attack the hill. Now the Intelligence indicates that this is the least defended location and it is certainly the most exposed. I decide to use the remaining two platoons. The Company HQ is switched with the platoon HQ that is used to control a Mortar and two Vet HMG’s. The bonus he has should help beef up the support elements and ensure any defenders on the hill are suppressed before the attack by the lesser skilled Company HQ.

These units will launch their attack along the ridge from the wooded hill to the left of the hill X. This leaves the sighting of the guns. Now this is critical as I need these resources to last long enough to do some damage to the defenders. I position the 75mm Infantry gun on the top ridge in a position where it can not be seen directly from the French lines. This will not protect it from Arty but at least any tanks can not DF it. The second arty gun is placed down the long valley on my right. Again this has direct LOS to the hill and some of its rear but no LOS to potential Tank positions on the French side. The final gun is placed on the small wooded hill from which I will launch the attack on Hill X.

The plan is simple

1. Ambush the vehicles and try and get as many VP’s from that as possible and then disengage and distract the French from the main attack.

2. Three DF Guns and two HMG’s and an 81mm Mortar will support the attack on the hill. The land will be held by two platoons using the reverse slope and smoke to hide from any DF brought down on them.

3. The village will be assaulted by four platoons and supported by two DF guns with 120mm mortar support if any of the French forces are spotted out in the open. Two platoons will remain hidden in the trees to the right of the village and two will attempt to draw fire on their approach. The Bocage is a pain and depending on if anyone opens up it might be avoided and the low hedges used instead.

Of course all of this is based on the intelligence given in the briefing and we all know that can be a tad faulty so I might have to change my plans. But one has to start with a plan and this was it. I also looked at what I could do to attack the main French VL but discarded this after reading the briefing and looking at the map.

Turns 1 to 5

Well the first turn showed up two French MMG’s on the forward slope of the hill. Not good positions for them as my DF guns prove. I just hope the rest of his forces are on the front slopes, but somehow I doubt it.

No signs of activity from the village, I hope they open up early as I need to locate the defences for my DF guns to hit. An 81mm Mortar round lands too close for comfort near my 81mm Mortar on the ridgeline. I just hope I have not been spotted and this is just the French ranging their mortars to see how fast the response times are. No sign of the convoy just yet, and from what has been posted on the forum I guess that might be turn 7.

Well the next few turns saw the French opening fire from the Hill with two MMG’s. These were targeted by the 105mm and 75mm guns. I know I am going to get some mortar fire back but I hope the position of the guns will give them some small protection. The 105mm on the small hill from which I launched my infantry will remain quiet unless a tank appears or I am in desperate need of additional DF onto the hill. The mortars will remain silent unless I have something I really need to use them against.

Well the 75mm Inf gun is pinned by some 60mm mortar fire, which is landing too close for comfort. 81mm Mortar rounds were switched to the hill from which my Infantry launched their attack and then switched again once he saw how much infantry was attacking. This has done little damage. The 105mm hidden down the long valley was engaged by a light gun on the top of the hill, it got off maybe two shots before a 105mm round forced the crew to leave. God that light gun was in plain view yet my men did not see it until it opened fire. I hope there are no more surprises like that. The hill has shown three new infantry units rush to the aid of the MMG’s which have taken too much fire and one broke. Two men with 50 cal as I got closer were the unit that broke. The other is keeping its head down and so far the infantry approaching the hill have only taken one causality.

My rockets hit the open plain on the right of the main French village on the other side of the valley. I don’t think I have done any major damage but maybe a TC killed or a damaged track, who knows? I see two French platoons running down the mountain to try and come to the aid of the hill. I switch the rocket fire into an area out of sight and hope I get lucky with a rocket on the exposed men. My main 81mm spotter and a single 81mm Mortar target the platoon from the woods. I hope to slow it down or damage it slightly. The 81mm Mortar manages to get one unit to break. I open up with the HMG on the ridge, which was fixed, and I wanted to move it, as it will die quickly. If it can slow down that platoon or cause them to stop in the area where the main 81 rounds will land will be worth it’s loss. Also I might attract some more fire which will allow me to ID some more rocket targets.

Meanwhile back at the village my 1st platoon has lost 4 men in it’s pretend run to the village. This did the trick and the two French platoons in the village opened up. His infantry seem to be all on the 2nd floor of the houses so they can see over the bocage. Good news for me as the next turn I open up with the two 75mm guns. I cause one French squad to break and others to keep their heads down. My arty kills a unit which has broken and maybe more. The 75mms take some 60mm arty rounds and lose a man or two. Smoke rounds start falling which could well mean the 60mms are out of ammo. Excellent news as all my guns are still alive at the moment. My two hidden platoons close to the village start there mad scramble up the hill after several turns of suppressive fire. I just hope I can get up there before they recover. I see a tank has made it from the main village over to here. I have some 100m Faust’s and I hope the luck to hit once I get in range. I need to clear this village in the next two turns before my SS men arrive and are slaughtered on the road.

End of turn five and 1/5th the way through the game I have lost 1 man on the attack on Hill 249, for the loss of two 50 Cals (both lost 3 men and in retreat) a light gun and a half squad down to two men. White4 seems to be pulling back his forward defences and I would guess I will be getting some HE landing on the hill soon. I will spread my men out and attempt to push his remaining forces off the hill.

My 105mm RL is in battle with two targets that have rushed up the road on the right of Hill 249. One is I’d as a Sherman and the other as a ½ track but the Sherman is only firing MMG rounds so I think it could be a ½ track, time will tell.

The two platoons trying to reinforce Hill 249 one is now out of sight and the other has fallen prey to my attempt to slow it down. Three squads broke under HMG and mortar fire and turned back, leaving two to continue. I target the area with 81mm mortar rounds to encourage them to run back up the hill. I just hope the HQ is with them. The rockets will be coming down soon and I can not get a good LOS and just hope the scatter is a good one and hits the other platoon.

No convoy yet and the ridge line HMG is ordered to pull back as it will be targeted this turn by the tanks on the opposing ridge line.

My attack on Lucio (by turn 5) is going well and I have only lost a total of 7 men. 4 of these from the split decoy squad, which is now ordered to reform before continuing the attack. Targeting the Heavy building behind the low hedge has helped my main assault. This held a hidden squad, which would have mown down my first squad as it crested the hill. As it is the 105mm RL has forced it to retreat just as my first mountain men and 300 plus (at 40 metres) FP wades through the hedge. That corner has two functioning MG’s which could be 50 Cals. I just hope the following turn my 105mm and HMG mane to keep their heads down as the rest of my weary troops crest the ridge.

The main threats now are the possible Sherman and ½ track that have arrived in the vicinity of Lucio. I need to get my squads in faust range ASAP and take them out quickly as they will murder any of my troops appearing on the road there. Run boys Run…. His forces in the village seem to have been halved as I have counted at least three squads leaving the buildings in disorder and I know I have wiped one unit out totally. My 120mm Mortar spotter is now running to a new spot to help support the attack on hill 249.

His 81mm Mortar spotter seems to be now targeting my attack on Lucio and I think he will be too late as my men are all now fairly close to village and should be safe from the rounds.

Turns 6 to 10

Turn 6 sees my two attacks falter as artillery lands on Hill 249 and my men dive for cover. A French gun opens up from the opposite side of the valley and a half squad of mine in a foxhole on the top takes too much and loses four men and breaks. The second platoon shelter at the bottom of the hill just outside the fall of the shells.

The vehicle I’d as a Sherman is knocked out and I later discover it is a Sherman, with a Green crew. Was lucky in that long distance duel and the ½ track pulls back, if it is a ½ track.

During these next few turn’s things really heat up. The convoy arrives and I am surprised at how big it is. At least two platoons of Infantry, if not three. Certainly there are three Green HQ units. A couple of armoured cars and several jeeps. It was good to position my mortar team in sight of the road (well the HQ was). As this caused a roadblock by taking out a truck and immobilising a ½ track. The infantry in these vehicles jump out and run for it taking an Odd causality. A dead jeep further enhances the roadblock.

About two minutes into the ambush the French have lost 5 trucks, 2 ½ tracks and two Jeeps. One Armoured car turns out to be a White A/C and I think he has lost the crewman manning the MMG. A M20 escapes with two ½ tracks and a Truck. Just as they are fleeing the truck and a ½ track get hit by a rocket explosion causing some serious damage. I lose the Shreck team and a couple of men. The French HQ units don’t make it past but I think there might have been an Arty spotter who did make it through. This is because the remaining ½ track is driven upto the main village and I presume that is where the spotter will camp out calling hell upon my men. I try and target my 81mm spotter on the spot in the hope I can tag the man as he gets out of the ½ track.

The big gun was destroyed in this period by my 75Inf gun. I won the duel as my 81mm Mortar team kept their heads down giving me enough time to finish the job off. Hill 249 remains contested and I will wait a bit longer before having a final go at it. I will save enough rounds to smoke it on the last few turns and then send my boys in. It is too exposed to try and take it right now unless I can neutralise the tank on the other side of the valley. This does not appear to have moved so I hoping that a rocket tagged a track? The main rocket attack went in and as it was the other side of the hill I am not sure what effect it had. I know a truck and ½ track, I am just hoping that the two platoons that made it down from the main village were also hurt.

The attack on the village is not going as fast as I wished for. The Sherman has been missed by one faust attack and has held up my advance. It has set fire to one building and destroyed another. Fortunately I managed to vacate my men and I have suffered light casualties. It is a good job had my capable Co HQ there as he is commanding two platoons until my spare HQ makes it down the mountain. The other HQ was the major causality during this period.

I have lost a 75mm Inf. gun to mortar fire and the 75mm RCL is down to two men but still helping the assault. The attack is now split with three platoons going through the houses on the left away from the tank and the remaining platoon going across the middle. That platoon did manage to take out a ½ track with a close range faust attack.

The updated plan is to contest the flag on the hill and win the one in the village. I must hold onto my flag at all costs and this is only held by ½ a squad. On turn 9 White4 rushes two ½ tracks along the road towards my village. This is the time to open up with my hidden 105mm RL. I had positioned this in case he did anything like this. The ½ tracks have no Inf. on board so as long as I can take them out I should be safe. My other 105mm is taking on the second ½ track and the 75mm Inf. gun is helping out as well. I get the two HMG’s to lend their weight of fire to try and button them so they can not ID my new gun. The shreck team (1 man, his mate took some damn rocket shrapnel) is close at hand and I will hold him back as he only has two rounds to hand.

The reduced platoon at the Ambush will try and mop up some extra points by taking out the immobile ½ track and the White A/C then hunting down any crew left over. I have a team in Panic and I hope they pull themselves together soon. The two HMG’s involved in the attack need some maintenance lessons as they both jammed at critical moments and did not do the damage I expected from them. One let a MG Jeep past which should really have been mincemeat.

Turns 11 to 15

These turns saw the assault on the village force the Sherman to depart as the French Infantry resistance was eliminated. It became costly as a few buildings were destroyed and I would guess 105mm Artillery came into play. My Company HQ broke, as did a couple of squads. I now have to ensure that a French counter attack does not retake the village. I will also have to guard against a tank or ½ track rush on the last few turns to throw the flag into contest. This should be easy, as any vehicle will have to come up the steep road and should be subject to faust (100Mtr) attack of which I have plenty at the moment.

The ½ track attack on my town is dealt with swiftly and he was a bit surprised at the new gun I opened up with. The crew scramble out of the burning vehicles to be finished off by my HMG’s and Company HQ.

My 81mm Mortar with its last few rounds manages to take out a light gun on the other side of the valley. A well-endowed HQ commanded it, and that surely helped. It just has smoke rounds left, which will be used towards the end to help protect my troops contesting the hill flag. Artillery (60mm) starts falling near my newly discovered 105mm gun and kills a few crewmembers I just hope it can survive.

My 75mm Infantry gun engages a MG on the other side of the valley but uses it smoke instead of HE. Damn the crew I wanted that on the hill. I fire off what is left to help cover a false rush and try and get White4 to expend some more HE on the hill.

The presumed spotter gets out of the ½ track and into the main French town. I can expect some more shells soon once he gets set up. Damn.

The possible tank on the opposite side of the valley is positively identified as a Sherman 76 and seems stuck. I just hope that is the case. White4 explains that the other vehicle I can see is a ½ track that was placed behind a wall it can not pass and is therefore trapped. Great news if a tad funny. It means that it is a ½ track and I now only have to worry about two Shermans.

I can see another platoon of troops moving down the village to help beef up his counter attack on the hill or village. I just hope I can contest the hill and will not make any rash moves. My Ambush force takes out the remaining two vehicles, the ½ track and white A/C. then set to work on mopping up. However this is set back slightly by artillery killing 3 men of the HQ unit and sending one squad into sheer panic. I am glad that he is using his artillery here rather than on the more important flag locations.

At this stage it shows me with a 65% margin and this is with the Hill Flag in his control and the main French town. His smaller town shows contested but even with that I should be ahead at the moment.

Hmm next few turns are not good. His men finally depart the village and I get hammered with 105mm artillery. My Company HQ is down to one man and most platoons are now seriously under strength. The only good news is that he does not look strong enough to make a serious counter attack to take it back. The Sherman is moving back to support his attack on the hill and leaves the MG Jeep and A/C to help keep me in the village. I just hope my SS men do not appear in front of these MG’s.

The Ambush position is hit by artillery for three turns and I am down to one man in the HQ unit and one squad down to 5 men and broken running for the hills. While the other is down to 7 men and in good order. The Vet HMG is still dishing out fire and stopping his men from re grouping. I will try and recover the broken squad and the other is sent on a hunt and destroy broken squad mission.

The serious problem is now the hill. He has finally brought up the two platoons from the other side of the valley. I am hoping they are tired and that they would be in view of my 120mm spotter. The spotter can not see them and I have to switch the 81mm spotter from taking out the A/C and Jeep to helping stem the attack on the hill. His 1-minute delay is too long.

My HMG’s are in the process of moving and I am caught on the hop. I hope that he does not have too much artillery left. I suspect he has at least 1 spotter and a full load. I shall try and smoke his suspected position. If he can get past my two platoon and into my main flag location then I could lose this game. His reinforcements are regulars and that is going to hurt. This is going to be crucial. He knows too much about my positions from the two crew units from the ½ tracks. My Company HQ will have them dead or captured this next turn.

The next turn is the turn of horror and possibly my demise. Up until this point I had a strong grasp on victory and all was going to plan. Last turn I had heard a plane fly over. This turn it struck. Two 500-lbs. bombs close to my reserve platoon hidden behind the hill. They were at full strength and after the bombs fell the only survivor was a single man from the platoon HQ. That is 33 men dead and gone in one second. I have never ever seen this before and I do not want to see it again.

This has screwed my plan to hold my VL and contest the hill. I will be bloody lucky to contest my town if he does what I think he is going to do. He has pulled out of the village and looks like he is not going to contest it. The tank, MG Jeep and A/C have pulled back. They look like they will rush my Town and support his attack on it. He has a reduced platoon and two fresh one of which is a Regular. I have a reduced platoon two HMG’s and my 81mm spotter and 24 rounds left in my 120mm spotter. There are ten turns left and I can not get any reinforcements back to the town fast enough.

I do have 2 rounds of HE in the 75mm Inf. gun and several rounds of AP. The 105mm is down to 3 crew and will be overwhelmed by DF from the Sherman, A/C and MG Jeep. I try to move it to a better firing position. The other 105mm is in a position to engage any French Inf. making a rush for the town but that will be a limited attempt. I have a single man with a single round of Shreck ammo in an ambush position on the road. I am in the poo.

I target the build up point of the French Inf. with my 81mm Spotter he has over a 100 rounds and it should do some damage to the exposed men. I hope it is enough. The two HMG’s I hope will be able to stop the Infantry trying to charge my hill. They are a bit exposed and I prey that with my HQ bonus they will cause his infantry to lose heart. This is going to be touch and go. I just hope that plane comes back and strafe his infantry.

As for the village it is still taking heavy artillery fire and my men are down to half squads. I do get this turn the SS with a 20mm and Jeep. Ohhh Woppyyy Dooo. I need a tank not something that will be wiped out in seconds. I get two platoons of SS and two HMG’s. That means the village will stay mine. I will advance up the road with a platoon either side to try and mop up his survivors and try and get his tank back this way. Ohhh Joy. My only hope is that I am doing better than the other German players are. It seems it was a big mistake taking that extra platoon from the Town and placing it with the three attacking the village. If that plane had not struck I would have been in a healthy position to repel him.

Turns 16 to 20

Well the next few turns make me feel a little bit more relaxed. My 81mm Mortar rounds get a few airbusts and I hope that dissuades the bulk of his Infantry to remain put. He sends a platoon to take my HMG’s and lone HQ unit. They look like they will be getting some 81mm Mortar Treatment. I try and put down a smoke cover between the suspected spotter in the main French town and that wooded hill. I switch my 81mm Spotter to fire in his attack area. Those men are n the open and I hope to slow it down or break it up.

I also get some more reinforcements. I was promised two turns of rockets and the second turn has just arrived. I target the hill and will have to bug my infantry out of there the turn before it arrives, even then I could still be hit as I am too close. Not sure what best to do on that gamble or not? My reduced ambush platoon regains order and the single man in the HQ unit leads them back up the mountain to my main town and I hope I get there in time.

The Sherman and some lucky MG bursts reduce my SS force but they at least have the attention of that tank and I hope he is thinking twice about pulling it out to attack my town. They hunt down what scattered troops he has left. The 20mm makes it into the village. The damn JABO has not seen him yet, so I have some luck. It does however spot the 105mm RCL in the trees and kills a crewman.

Right the current plan is to hold on for dear life and pull back my platoon at the base of the hill and defend the town. I am shifting the 75mm RCL to help defend and the 105mm with two crewmen are also slowly being moved. I prey that my HMG’s can hold the line backed up with the 81mm spotter until I can get those 210mm rockets in that area and then prey he is in the open running when they fall.

Right the next turn sees the JABO take out my Jeep. Not a lot else happened. I have my men up and run away from any chance of the rockets hitting them and they should land in 30 seconds. I keep re-targetting the 120mm spotter in front of the two HMG’s that are keeping a reduced platoon at bay. I have LOS to an area that I expect them to move into and I need the last 24 rounds to stop them or slow them.

The 81mm Spotter has around 70 rounds left and he is waiting for the push on the hill. He might be able to slow that charge down. My men coming from the ambush are slowly climbing the mountain. One squad breaks and I might not get it back under control. The HQ seems to be OK but with one man left it is touch and go.

I continue with my SS to clear up near the village and take up positions either side of the main road. White4 has now brought the second Sherman down to the road to defend down there or in readiness for a last minute rush upto my flag. I have 64% victory and I hope I can keep that.

Right the next turn sees the sod charge my HMG's and smoke them. This is just as my 210mm rockets start to fall. None hit the main group but it might have caused them to go to ground. Also his squads charge the hill and take up positions near where my platoon had been. Of course it will be sods law that no rockets hit that area and I have been too cautious. Hey ho that is the way it goes. I have 20 rockets left and I hope for some better hits. This is not to say that the have done no damage. An area of brush on the hilltop is set alight and I think a reduced squad is wiped out. There might be more damage I have not seen.

The 120 will target the platoon near my HMG’s as they are now in sight and I will open up with what HE I have left in my Guns that can be brought to bear. 5 turns left this will be close. The 81mm mortar is on target and that will help sap his green men morale. The only bits to worry about is those tanks and if my guns can keep them away from my main flag.

Turns 20 to 25

Well the next few turns happen in the course of one night and so are all jumbled into the next few paragraphs.

My rockets hit and seem to have halted his assault with the two platoons on the hill. I also suffered some bad luck with an air burst right above my group of remaining mountain men hidden (I had hoped) outside the fall pattern. This wiped out the Company HQ and reduced the two squads down to 3 men left each. I am gutted. The reduced squad that I left in the supposed fall pattern was unscathed.

The platoon rush on my two HMG’s is halted and one squad gets mown down. His platoon HQ breaks and retreats with one man left in it. The remaining French squad is pinned and down to 4 or 5 men. I target the hill with the remaining 120mm mortar rounds and the 81mm Spotter helps break up the attack. I order the reduced squad, which was untouched by the rockets, to chase down his attacking units. They take out a unit, which could have been a HQ. He has at least three platoons in retreat and I have to ensure it stays that way over the next few turns.

The lone HMG in the ambush position does a sterling defence and holds off two squads and a HQ charging its position. The French HQ unit makes it next to my HMG but is mown down and this breaks the remaining two squads which are left hanging in the open. The stats for the HMG is over 15 men killed so far and several vehicles nobbled. His earlier jamming incident is going to be swept under the carpet.

My men on the right defending the village continue to mop up his remaining survivors and chase them down in the woods. This seems to keep the two Shermans on the main road. Excellent news as this is where I want them. One seems to be out of HE and the other should be soon. I send a squad and a HQ on a tank hunting expedition through the woods.

White4 seems to be planning an attack as he has loaded up a squad in his last ½ track and tries to load up men into the truck. A HMG puts paid to the truck and the Jeep but a HQ unit mounts the remaining A/C. The ½ track moves down to where the tanks are. This is again good news, as he can not get near my main flag in the remaining two turns and seems to be heading for the village. I think he feels that he has good control on the hill, (NOT) and that he is going to contest the village small flag.

Well so be it… On that road I have two HMG’s a Shreck and several squads with 100m Fausts. I hope my luck will keep him at bay. A new road ambush is sent up. Two turns to go. I need to contest the hill and keep the village if I can do that it appears I will get a victory. If I had not lost my men to that plane and the rockets I would be walking this.

The penultimate turn see the Shermans and ½ track advance further down the road and they are joined by a HQ unit riding the A/C. The infantry in the ½ track jump out into the woods next to the Shermans on the left hand side. This is the same wood that I have my SS HQ unit with two squads and three fausts. The end of the turn sees one of my squad’s target a Sherman at 45m. The HQ has a plus 2 combat bonus and morale bonus. I hope this bodes well for the last turn. The Shermans are using up their AP rounds on the area where I have a platoon hidden away targeting an ambush point.

My 20mm gun has forced one of his MG units to break and run. I also finish off two of his mortar squads. Had hoped they would surrender but they went down fighting. Apart from the vehicles there does not seem to be any threat on my hold of the village. The Zhrek team is tired but with luck might pop anyone brave enough rushing down that road.

At the Hill his units continue their retreat baring a green squad which was rushed forward to plug the hole. This unit takes out a couple of my men and turns my unit into panic. In return I see a hail of fire come down on him and surely he will be breaking too. His unit on the hill itself either breaks or is ordered down to help with the threat at the base. What he does not realise is as he is going down I have two reduced units rush the hill and jump in the foxholes behind the wall. I hope they can hold out for one turn. The hill will be contested or mine. The HQ unit continues his mad dash up the hill to bring order to those three leaderless units.

In the ambush position the HMG continues to take pot shots at the fleeing squads while the two HMG’s on the wooded hill hold off the remaining 1 man French HQ and a badly reduced squad. One turn to go and baring a disaster I hope to sneak a victory on this.

Well, no surprises on the last turn. I take a pot shot at a Sherman and miss but my men on the hill stay put and it is contested. The Shermans and half-tracks keep me at bay and I get a comment from White4 saying he thinks he has only scratched my forces. If he only knew…

The final score is 61 points to 36. Men of the match must go to the three men left manning the HMG on the ambush position. They have a reported tally of 18 infantry and 2 ½ tracks. I am not sure what good my rockets did, I certainly know what bad!!!

In hindsight the decision to beef up the village attack might have been wrong and that extra platoon would have helped ensure victory on the hill. I think apart from that I have had a good game and the loss of only one gun and one mortar (hit while retiring) is a testimony to this.

On the other hand White4 had a tough time trying to control Green troops and dealing with an ambush he did not expect.

A great game, and a great map.

H

Result

A minor victory for the Germans

German .................Allied

208 (46)...............291 (78)

1 Mortars...............3 Mortars

1 Gun...................3 Gun

1 Vehicle...............18 Vehicles

Men OK

213.....................278

Score

61......................36

[von Lucke]

Originally posted by Holien:

I think the French get a tough ride in this game. However if they use the Shermans and 1/2 tracks well it can be a tough game for the Germans.

As for knowing which side the convoy comes on would not make much difference? IMO.

Ummm, yah. IMHO, the French player is set-up from the beginning.

You have Green troops which run at the sound of gun-fire, against Reg and Vet GB and SS troops. Your reinforcements enter into an ambush (mine were slaughtered by MG's on the mountain overlooking the entrance point, not to mention the squad standing on top of them when they entered). Shermans that start in the LOS of the German guns (mine died the 1st turn --- since they were Green, they had barely started moving before they were taken out). The German guns were in a position to pound both hilltops (which they did), while the German rockets pounded my reiforcements before they even moved.

Oh, airpower? Yah, they dropped two 500lb bombs on a half-strength German HQ --- taking one of my few Reg squads along with him.

I spent most of the battle trying to move my shaken squads from one point to the next --- almost impossible to do when yr under constant harrassing fire.

For the French player, this is once long exercise in annoyance.

[Holien]

Hi VL...

Sounds like murder....

I was not brave enough to place my guns in positions to take on the main village where the Shermans were stationed.

I guess I missed a trick there? Sounds like your Opponent had some good views and got lucky with his long range shots.

I think the % hit chance at that range must have been low.

Ahh well I am glad I got the Germans. Even with the loss of 33 men to two bombs I still won.

I cold have done with your pilots in my game with White4.

H

[von Lucke]

Actually, I did manage to take out his two guns overlooking Lucio --- which allowed me to hold on there until his reinforcements entered. That part of the map was actually a pretty tough fight: Half the buildings were leveled or on fire --- until the last couple of turns, when my survivors Routed.

His other guns where perched on ridge lines --- which tends to make shots from lower elevations miss quite frequently. (Though Jon didn't seem to have that problem when firing on me!).

The last straw was when, after spending half the battle trying to move up reinforcemnts to the hilltop on my right --- dodging MG and RR fire, breaking and crawling, finally finding a route up through the cliffs --- a 300mm rocket tree-burst over the entire platoon, decimating the lot!!!

[John Kettler]

Bumping this engrossing thread while pleading for further contributions!

Regards,

John Kettler

[Holien]

Hi VL,

I hand my hat to you with the worse luck.

I think you really should change your name as it clearly is not working....

H

[Spanish Bombs]

Fire on the Mountain AAR

Setup: Pretty much the best map I’ve ever seen. Most maps have the appearance of a small part of a big area, if they are good enough to give across any such impression. This map, however, gives the impression of a whole arena, fit for a battle or sightseeing for that map. I have Gebirgsjagers, with whom I’ve rarely played, but I hope to maul some Frogs this game.

Turn 01: At the start, there are already numerous cliffhangers. A Chafee?, Sherman? And HT? are all within longrange firing of my RCLs. Anxious to get things started, I give targeting orders and away we go. The RCLs have small profiles, which makes me hopeful that they can last awhile, and while one of them takes some fire, it knocks out the Chafee without being suppressed or taking casualties. I sneak a few platoons toward Lucio, too, but this will be a game for long range fire, it appears.

Turn 02: No luck with the long range stuff, as the Sherman scoots into hiding behind a building. It might be time to try the 105RCLs against structures. My move on Lucio is begun in earnest, but there is French there. I have an infantry gun in great position there, so it should be a good turn 3. No enemy convoy yet, but I have also not shown the ambush platoon.

Turn 03: I lose my first guns, a RCL from mortar fire, and the infantry gun overseeing Lucio to offboard arty. I do take out at distance one of his guns, of unknown caliber. Infantry push on into Lucio, and up the hill in the middle, but there is much distance to go. No convoy yet, either.

Turn 04: I get a platoon underneath Lucio, in some cover there, and I have mortar fire 33 secs away. The rest of that taskforce is slugging it out at long range, but is avoiding mortar fire, and a brushfire, and taking less casualties than it is giving. I may need to start conserving ammo. I move the two platoons into the hill in the middle, which looks like a tough nut to crack. Finally, I start dropping some heavy mortar fire beneath Schalburg, but can’t tell if it is doing anything. Some more smoke at Lucio would be nice.

Turn 05: The primary action is around Lucio, where I have found some cover on the approach, but am suffering from some casualties and some pretty heavy arty. The infantry in the village are somewhat suppressed, but the arty causes some casualties and is pretty tough. I am still awaiting the French column to arrive, and am hoping for a wholesale slaughter. Of course, he is no doubt awaiting my column near Lucio.

Turn 06: My rockets, aimed for Schallburg, fall, of course, everywhere but there. I have crept under Lucio with most of my force, but the rest is suffering shelling in the woods above. Next turn I shall move this force closer to avoid the shelling, and to prepare the assault on Lucio after a large mortar barrage.

Turn 07: The arrival of the convoy is anticlimactic, as all of his infantry detrains and heads for the hills. I do not mind this so much, as the pause allows my mortars time to land in the midst of the vehicles, the infantry is not being aggressive, and it is in fact perhaps presenting me an opportunity. As for Lucio, his artillery is very accurate and causes heavy casualties. Mine is 5 seconds away. The rockets do their typical worthless performance.

Turn: 08: The convoy moves out, and right through my ambush. I take out a number of light vehicles, but whether it is enough is hard to say. My hidden gebirgsjaeger platoon fares OK because it is not dealing with infantry, which is high-tailing it up the hill behind. Near Lucio, the mortar fire falls without great effect. He is thicker there than I imagined, but I have to keep slugging it out, perhaps take some buildings down with the remaining RCL over there.

Turn 09: I break the lead enemy squad in Lucio, but there are still many behind him. I hope to move into the first building at the end of the next movie. The convoy scoots and dances around my ambush, and I only manage to take out another truck. I continue to move up the walled hill in the middle, without meeting resistance, but that can’t be the case here, can it? Mortar fire in and around the remnants of the convoy.

Turn 10: An absolutely devastating barrage creams my men under Lucio. I no longer have a chance to take that town with the men that are there. I am few and broken, he is above me, well supported, and intact. More of the convoy scoots by, but I am also at the crest of the walled hill. This could have been a better movie.

Turn 11: This one is a little better. I take out a Jeep, maybe a truck, and a HT. This is not a turkey shoot, because of the ranges involved. I also shift my mortar fire onto the mass of bullseyes (French infantry contacts) on the hill. I can tell that I cause some casualties, and the fire looks spot-on, but it is impossible to tell. Meanwhile, the slaughter of the troops beneath Lucio is about finished, most my men there are broken or even re-broken.

Turn 12: Not necessarily a great turn, but my global morale stays put, and my victory % goes up, and that is always a positive. Have pulled back near Lucio, am licking wounds with remaining half squads and lone soldiers. The battle of the convoy is about out, only a few vehicles remain, and my platoon is beat up, but has caused damage. My last mortar rounds land in the woods, where I feel strongly his infantry is hiding (from the convoy). Another HT taken out in Schallberg, the crest of the walled hill is mine.

Turn 13: I take buildings down, with my 75 RCL by Lucio, and it causes casualties and opens a lane of fire into other troops. My ambush platoon on my left is about done with its work, and hopefully has done enough. Still an M20 to corral, though. Some allied infantry moves toward the center, but what their purpose or goal is, I can’t reckon at this time.

Turn 14: I take the building down where the Sherman was hiding, but to what purpose, I am not yet sure, but there are now a HT and the Sherman within view of my remaining 105 RCL. My two platoons tasked with holding hill 249 are suppressed by artillery fire, which is not good, but I’d prefer them suffering a casualty or two to losing a gun or RCL. I get reinforcements at the end of the turn, near Lucio, making things right interesting.

Turn 15: The murderous fire on Hill 249 continues, I have many casualties there, all from artillery. My reinforcing platoons move toward Lucio, one up the hill, and one circumventing via the road. They quickly fall under the fire of enemy infantry and MGs, but I gotta keep moving because he may still have artillery. There are more troops in Lucio than I remembered. The turn ends with me having a long range shot at the rear of his remaining tank.

Turn 16: I get 3 hits on that tank, at about 1000m, but no damage. I have only a few rounds left on that RCL, so will target Lucio with the remaining HE rounds, hoping to take out a few more infantry units before firing the last two pot-shots at his tank. Artillery continues to fall on Hill 249, I continue to take casualties, but am not going to be deterred from that flag. Locate a light gun behind Lucio, but have 2 HMGs in position to contest it.

Turn 17: I try to push into Lucio, but the French are thick there, and the building I rush into has at least twice as many French as I have Germans. I will likely lose a whole platoon in that rush, and can only hope that I am exacting enough of a toll on him. My troops on the hill rally, somewhat. My last reinforcement spotter has a one minute delay right on some decent stuff about to land right where his infantry is beating a retreat to Schallburg.

Turn 18: Lucio appears all but lost, he is way too strong in there, I needed the infantry gun to hold on long enough to eliminate some of his guys there. He now has armor on its way to help out, I can only hope that the cannon there can help, and the ‘schreck. The ground will be as hard on counterattack as it was on attack, no doubt. Not much action elsewhere, but he has large amounts of infantry moving toward Schallburg in the rear, and I am trying to target them with my mortars and off board arty.

Turn 19: Near Lucio, one guy left in a shattered SS squad breaks and actually runs straight through the village. My 75 RCL on that side, with it’s last round, takes out the HT hightailing it over there. Unfortunately, I have nothing left but a hidden schreck team to deal with the Sherman there. Another platoon and I just might make it there. My rocket barrage lands with decent effect amongst his men attempting to make it to Schallburg. They were grouped and exposed on a hill, and I cause casualties in several squads and eliminate maybe one entirely, plus a green HQ unit.

Turn 20: Not much left to go here, my forces around Lucio are holding back, as they are outnumbered and there is a tank to reckon with there. The tank is hiding behind a ledge, but I will crawl toward it with my ‘schreck, and see if I can get a shot off. I continue to pummel his infantry at long range, this time with an infantry gun that had heretofore been out of LOS of his forces. I hear a plane, don’t think its mine, but I present few targets at this stage.

Turn 21: Things are winding down, but for maybe some action around Lucio, and my long range harassment of his troops moving across the open. The plane buzzes by again, but be it Luftwaffe or French, it does not appear to attack or strafe. Admittedly, there are few good targets remaining. His tank comes right up to my 20mm gun near Lucio, but for some reason does not fire. Meanwhile, my ‘schreck team there should be in a decent spot to get off a shot early next turn, but I hope my 20mm cannon is not an early casualty.

Turn 22: A tradeoff turn: I take out his tank near Lucio, but not before it eliminates the 20mm cannon. Then, his airpower drops bombs, wiping out a platoon HQ and almost an entire squad near Hill 249. There is a fat and juicy light building* in Lucio, right on the outskirts, that has lots of green enemy troops in it, that I had hoped to target with the 20 mm. Maybe I can put a dent in it with the ‘schreck, but otherwise he’s pretty secure in that town.

Turn 23: Another strafing run, and a few casualties and a broken squad. He has one squad creeping up Hill 249, I just hope I have enough there to discourage him, and to keep the flag secured. He tries to move a gun toward Lucio, but I wipe it out at long range with HMG fire. I am encroaching in a few places upon the Lucio outerbuildings, but will have to decide if it is worth the risk of a final attack.

Turn 24: More progress at Lucio, as bits and pieces of his men there are being whittled away. I won’t reach the flag, but might be able to squeeze him there. Elsewhere, continued long range harassing fire, and the plane strafes again causing 2 casualties.

Turn 25/Finale: A minor victory, I had hoped that my late rocket barrage had caused more casualties than it actually did. 60-39. Hill 209 stays pretty secure, although some of my squads are still battered by the mortar fire, which turns out to be onboard variety. I did not have enough men to really take Lucio the last few turns, although the map reveals that the numbers are not that far apart - but he is uphill and secured in buildings, I may have been slaughtered. Most of his troops on my left, the reinforcements - have taken some casualties and are less than healthy. Schallburg has been damaged fairly well, there are full squads which had been eliminated there, had to be the rockets. I never do kill that light armor that had remained on the board near the entry point for his convoy.

A fun scenario, although the map’s limitations made things a bit static the last few turns. A superb map, though, with almost endless scenario possibilities. I would guess that the my performance in this scenario turns out to be about average. Thanks for the opportunity.

[Mick_Oz]

Here is my AAR for Fire on the Mountain:

Mick_Oz (Axis) v Wadepm (French)

Western Alps, near French-Italian Border…. April 1945…..

As the attacking Germans, I have been ordered to drive the French forces from their positions atop the exposed summit .(and perhaps the reverse slopes) of Hill 249. I have also been directed to clear the town of Lucio, on my far right, of the ‘guitar-playing Frenchmen,’ who it turns out have enough forces there for an orchestra. In fact, the discordant strains of drunken guitar music made this battle hell on my company of Volks SMG troops, holed up in the right flank woods for the jump-off assault against Lucio. The SMG troops are to be bolstered by some SS reinforcements, which will include a 20mm flak gun.. and they will arrive on road at edge of town on turn 15. I need to make Lucio safe for their arrival. More on that later.

Other mission objectives include ambushing an expected French convoy due to arrive ‘sometime’ at the left edge road and inflicting as much damage as possible (with nebelwerfers, mortars etc) to the main enemy town of Ville de Schalburg. I can’t envisage any serious assault on Schalburg. I have no vehicles and my infantry forces are sparse. They’re required for other objectives in any case.. including the defence of my own main town, Sesto San Giovanni. It is my nightmare that the Frenchies might drive for Sesto using tanks and other mobile support units. For this reason, I have two of my guns, a 75mm Infantry gun and a 105mm RCL, on mountain positions overlooking the road into SSG. It is also defended by a platoon of Gebirs.

In anticipation of the expected enemy convoy, I have posted a 105mm RCL, HMG units and mortars on wooded clifftop positions overlooking the left flank road, adding a second schreck team on right of my ambushing platoon position at woods near road.

On cliffs overlooking Lucio, I position several HMG teams, a 75mm RCL and a 75mm Infantry gun… the latter gets a not very useful command bonus from a nearby company command hq.

My 210 mm nebelwerfer FO is ordered to target Lucio in a bid to wipe the inebriated smiles from the faces of the Frenchmen there. My 120mm and 81mm FO’s repectively target a road junction into Schalburg and a patch of woods overlooking Lucio.. I will adjust firing as needed.

Here is a summary of how the battle played out:

Turns 1-6: Enemy convoy spotted heading out of Schalburg, looks like a couple of tanks with a platoon in HT’s. The tanks suppress my right flank RCL as my mortar teams try to target convoy. Not much luck. My 120mm FO fire arrives in vicinity of HT’s at road junction, where I assume the French grunts are disembarking to advance to Hill 249. Can’t tell if his vehicles are damaged by the arty, most of which goes wide. French tanks split..one goes left and other right, taking up guard positions on road. My 75mm RCL on right flank cliff knocked out. Enemy detected in strength in Lucio.. my HMG teams open up on Lucio’s cruddy houses. SMG half squads on my far left woods and scattered woods also open up, regrettable since I fear certain French artillery strike. I order troops back and spread to minimise casualties. I am prepared to wait for Lucio to be hopefully reduced by Nebelwerfer fire before attacking.

No signs yet of enemy on Hill 249 but I know they’re there. I order one Gebirs platoon down from left woods slopes in preparation for assault on Hill 249. They make their way across wheat fields, hopefully hidden by the mountainous terrain. A second platoon will follow after enemy expends any arty. Must try to conceal from enemy for as long as possible.

Enemy gun on cliffs opposite Lucio knocked out by one of my RCL’s.

My 210mm rocket salvo against Lucio begins…and ends by next turn. Unfortunately, even with direct LOS, it only manages to demolish one building in Lucio; and the rest goes well wide of the town. Rockets: all bang, no buck. My 75mm infantry gun reveals its position and begins firing at enemy units in Lucio.

At Hill 249, French infantry spotted on reverse slopes and foolishly gain the crest. I can hear cries of “Baissez-vous!” as my 81mm mortars, HMG teams and a 105mm RCL open up on them. Fortunately, my men can’t be seen by the Frenchies on the crest.

On right, I dodge artillery fire in woods and assemble my company of Volks SMG teams for the planned assault on Lucio.. I will use smoke from 81mm FO to mask the advance. My 75mm infantry gun still firing although it’s targeted by French HMG team position on opposite cliff.

Still no sign of French convoy on left but a platoon of enemy infantry has moved into blocking position at woods in front of his main town.

Turns 7-13:

Turn 7 is full of carnage. On left, the evil enemy convoy makes its awaited appearance on road! I count five M-3 HT’s, five trucks (all carrying infantry) and at least two A/C escorts, along with two jeeps. A few trucks/HT’s whip by my waiting ambush platoon in woods and machine gun several of my men. My schreck by road finally lets fire and catches one of the ht’s, knocking it out. The rest of the convoy is slower moving and many will die. Not sure where they’re headed… if it were me, I’d move them to Lucio but it turns out the vehicles which get through make for the main town, Ville de Schalburg. The French no doubt anticipate a large German push on the town, and it is probably only lightly defended. C’est la guerre, I have other French fish to fry.

Some of them in fact are on top of Hill 142 and are now routing as I target them with 120mm FO mortar fire, HMG teams, 81mm mortars and soon, with 105mm RCL fire. But first my RCL must deal with an intruder, an M4A3-76mm tank swings into the road facing it and gets off a shot or two. Ugly. But my RCL is equal to the challenge and sets the Sherman ablaze. My gun then returns its focus to Hill 142. My 120mm arty knocks out a light gun on the hill and the French are running backwards.

On right, mortar fire (I think) knocks out my 75mm gun facing Lucio. A blow. I keep my Volks company away from woods edge and only exchange fire using an LMG team at edge of woods. I want to draw their fire and make them waste ammo. Meanwhile, I bunch up on far right of woods in prep for assault a bit later.

I was warned of enemy jabos. It turns out to be my good fortune - and a source of understandable irritation to my opponent - that they never turn up. Maybe they got lost in the mountain passes. Who am I to complain?

Meanwhile, my HMG and other teams on clifftops and wooded edges take out a few more enemy vehicles in convoy..a couple as they enter from map’s edge. From Schalburg, a second Sherman, this one a 75mm, rolls toward viaduct to support convoy on left. He’s knocked out by a second schreck team in ambush position on high wooded ledge facing viaduct. I withdraw my ambush infantry to protect them while my available support teams and guns target the convoy. His green infantry scramble into wooded cover as I continue to target men and vehicles from the overlooking cliffs. At least five enemy HT’s have made it to Ville de Schalburg..pity. But they’re hurting. A third enemy tank targets one of my HMG teams overlooking convoy.

Mortar fire sets grass ablaze on enemy reverse slopes of Hill 142.. black smoke plumes into the sky. This should offer some protection from enemy positions when I make the move to crest. French shells, however, start to fall on my guys hunkering down on reverse slopes.. panicking one squad and pinning the rest. Not good. And a stubborn French mg team still sits on top of the hill defying my efforts to kill him.

On right, my FO’s 81mm smoke rounds arrive on target, in prep for the assault on Lucio. Just a few turns left until my SS reinforcements arrive and I don’t want them shot up beyond repair. And my Volks guys need to get in close with their SMG firepower. By turn 12.. my infantry assault on Lucio is underway… with mixed success. The enemy has seen the concentrated push against Lucio’s map edge flank and is quickly moving units into buildings to cover. An ugly fight developing. I still have one or two HMG teams giving me supporting fire and aim to gain a foothold in one or two key buildings. Now is when I need that 75mm gun! And I now see a few enemy HT’s with green troops heading quickly down road to help out the wine-swilling population of Lucio. I hope they meet a sticky end.

In centre, my men wait out the arty on reverse slopes of Hill 142 while a second platoon approaches in support, keeping its distance for now.

Turn 14-21:

On left, at least eight of the enemy convoy vehicles have been abandoned and my opponent now tries to withdraw his light armour support, an M-20 and an M3A1 scout car. However, both are knocked out at edge of map. I bring up my grunts near road again to finish off his green infantry sheltering in another patch of woods. But movement is slow in the steep terrain.

On Hill 142, that stubborn French mg unit continues to trade fire with a clifftop HMG team and D platoon gets ready to mount a quick rush to crest. I platoon is approaching in reserve. Unfortunately, at that moment, a canny French arty strike routs D platoon entirely. I still have I platoon a bit further back and they will wait. And the enemy once more is on the crest of the hill. I now reveal my 75mm infantry gun, previously concealed to guard road to my main town and protect it from arty. It trains its fire on the enemy on crest.

On right, I have gained toehold in Lucio although G platoon has suffered, especially as I let two squads get out of command range. But the French green troops are largely retreating although four enemy HT’s have arrived at road in back carrying a new enemy platoon I surmise. I target their positions with my 81mm FO. Then things go wrong.. I lose F Platoon HQ and G platoon shot up.. my men in one building are down to one person squads. Surprisingly, the French then cut and run with one squad routed by two German one-man squads. It appears that they may be withdrawing to establish a rear defensive line. But now my two SS rifle squads arrive, along with support units and the 20mm flak gun, which I immediately disembark in scattered woods at entry point near road. I move the SS squads to the left to shelter them from any enemy vehicles and to assault Lucio through the gap made by my valiant Volks SMG squads. This is achieved as my 20mm Flak gun takes out several HT’s attempting to reverse to road. I now hold Lucio as the French retreat to road where some are taken under fire by my hmg teams and other units.

Meanwhile, I have gained another 210mm rocket FO and I turn him loose on the enemy’s main town: Ville de Schalburg. I hope to catch a few more HT’s at least.

The convoy is history… my infantry will eventually succeed in killing or routing most of the French infantry who bailed out of the vehicles. That ends discussion of this sector.

Turn 21-25:

At Lucio, a final worry as the French send over a Sherman to beat up on my flak gun. Not surprisingly, I lose the gun, having already lost the kubelwagon which towed it. My main concern is to hold the town so I prepare for different possible points of entry for the tank. However, the tank was content in the end to stay on the road, probably fearing schreck or p-faust teams.

At Hill 142, I platoon captures the French mg unit but one of my squads routs under fire from French infantry hiding on reverse slope. By final turn, all of I platoon sits on top of the flag at crest protected by my FO 81mm smoke rounds from an enemy gun sited on cliffs opposite. To my chagrin, however, one French crewmember and a French mg team approaching the crest from side.. (but nowhere near the flag), prove enough to keep the VL contested. War is hell but scoring can be tougher.

Nonetheless, although my victory is officially ‘minor’.. it turned out better than that on the scoreboard: 63-32.

Comments: This was hugely entertaining for me as the Germans and I imagine, pretty depressing for the French. It’s no fun when your units enter into pre-designed ambush kill zones. The failure of the French jabos to turn up in this battle also hurt French morale. I thought the map was great and the briefing really put me in the mood. Congratulations to the designer.. obviously a lot of work went into this.