Looking for advice

[Hasenpfeffer]

Hi all.

I'm asking for advice for a PBEM I'm going to be playing. I'm new to the game, and this battle will be by far the largest I've so far undertaken. My opponent is skilled.

It's a 3000 point attack, medium map, dawn/dusk, village, moderate hills, moderate trees. I'm playing as Axis and defending. My opponent likes arty, from what I hear, although that may change somewhat if they read this.

I was thinking along the lines of all Veteran troops, maybe a couple Sturmkompanies or an FJ Battalion; 3 105mm and 2 81mm FOs; some Shrecks. I haven't decided what to bring along as far as armor goes.

I'd like to give a good accounting of myself, although I have no illusions of winning. I would really appreciate any and all advice you all could give.

Thanks!

Hasenpfeffer

[Jackal]

Seeing that you are defending with the german's a couple of hetzers would help your defense alot (seeing that I just got my ass handed to me by only one hetzer) Read the thread "killing a hetzer" and you'll understand. Their flanks are weak but you can devise a plan to protect their flanks. working in pairs is good from what I have heard as well. Keep a reserve force hidden somewhere so that you can remain fluid through out the battle. veteran troops will help but keep in mind that you should decide what is the base combat element of your defense and purchase support units to plan the defense in depth. He will probably utilize his speed, so look at the kill areas were you can place long-range fires on him. also, even on the defense I will purchase two sharpshooters or split a squad (not preferred) to scout forward and try to locate his forces before he gets to your main defensive belt, also allowing you to get your reserve ready. keep the scouts slow and under cover at all times so they will help your defense as long as possible. Expect his arty to be placed on the VL's and all visible defendable areas. So when placing troops keep this in mind.

On your setup, split all of your squads and place team where you want their permanent fighting position to be and set the second team in a secondary defense position. Once you hit go, each team will have a foxhole. move your secondary teams forward to rejoin the main defense belt.

Use your long-range assets to their fullest. Position them with overlapping fields of fire, staggered positions, etc.

Anyone else?????

[Gremlin]

Get a mobile AA gun like the Ostwind, which can be invaluable for racing to hotspots and stopping massed infantry advances. Armored cars serve in the same capacity, albeit less effectively. Your map will be quite large, so with all the territory you'll need to defend, your reserve should probably be at least partly mobile (i.e., in HT's and ready to race to trouble spots). Either way, you'll likely have to cede some territory from the beginning and concentrate on defending areas of major tactical significance. "He who defends everything will defend nothing in the end." --Frederick II of Prussia

You might want more 88 FO's than 105's, since he's going to be in motion and with dawn/dusk you may not spot troop concentrations as quickly as you'd like--i.e., you need something that can strike quickly to supress and break up formations.

For any troops defending the village proper and/or for reserves, maybe try fusilier SMG squads for nasty close-range ambushes after the enemy has bypassed long-range attrition fire from MG's and mortars and mid-range rifle squads.

Set up Schreck ambushes on your forward flanks, AT guns on the rear flanks (?).

Mines and wire are cheap and can be very useful for channeling infantry into killing zones--maybe get a pillbox MG for that purpose.

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I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.

--Einstein

[This message has been edited by Gremlin (edited 01-06-2001).]

[groundpounder]

I almost always buy a crack sharpshooter. They are very stealthy and good for killing those pesky American arty spotters. Also great for taking out the tank commanders or just buttoning them up. For me they are worth the money.

gp

[Beer_n_Pretzels]

Greetings HP,

I was going to post some suggestions directly to you, as your opponent no doubt would be reading this thread. However your profile does not include an e-mail address

1. for starters I would probably read Fionn's close terrain defence after action report to get some ideas. This can be found at:

http://combathq.thegamers.net/aars/game13/closeindex.asp

2. have a fundamental doctrine to guide the deployment and action of your troops. For example, you may decide that the best form of defence is too kill his tanks. If so, buy AT guns and Panzsershrecks and setup ambushes.

3. search the Forum for threads on assault tactics

4. create your own assault quick battle and play the germans against the attacking AI using the same setup.

5. Don't go overboard with super-elite (or even Veteran) troops. Artillery shells don't care if the target is green or elite. Have your tanks, sharpshooters and maybe FO's as veterans; other units types can usually be regulars, depending on their mission. for example forwards spotting squads should be veteran (or even crack, if allowable).

6. Your reserve force should consist of at least one platoon of veteran infantry, preferably mounted in Halftracks so they can quickly reinforce the line by travelling via covered routes.

7. Get tank destroyers instead of tanks. They are cheaper and (in the case of a JagdPanther or Jagdpanzer) usually carry a better gun.

8. Have alternate positions for your tanks. If your opponenet likes artillery, then once your tanks show their ugly snouts he'll hit 'em with the heavy artillery which may not toast your tanks, but make them immobile or damage the main gun.

9. Consider using a flamwthrower or two. Can be a nasty suprise for the attacker!

I hope this helps.

[Hasenpfeffer]

Thanks you 4 for your help! I have a lot to digest in a short time.

BnP, my address is now showing in my profile. If you or anyone else wants to send me tips directly, please do!

Once again, thanks mucho!

HP

[109 Gustav]

Get 2 Pak40 AT guns instead of one of your tanks. Hide them in places with fairly restricted fields of fire, in places where you can hit the enemy in the flank. Now that tanks and guns are more likely to hit at close range, hidden guns are almost gaurenteed to take out at least one tank.

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Well my skiff's a twenty dollar boat, And I hope to God she stays afloat.

But if somehow my skiff goes down, I'll freeze to death before I drown.

And pray my body will be found, Alaska salmon fishing, boys, Alaska salmon fishing.

-Commercial fishing in Kodiak, Alaska

[jasoncawley@ameritech.net]

Your instinct to take a lot of good infantry is sound. I'd want a battalion in a scenario that big, or at least two companies. It is also fine to buy a fair amount of arty, but I'd take just one module of 120mm mortars and then by 81mm mortars for the rest (3 modules of them should do).

You are not likely to kill vehicles (let alone tanks) with arty, and he is not going to be dug in. What you want to be able to do is to pin down his infantry over and over, and to smash bunched up troops in woods particularly (that is the 120mm mission). Mortars have good response times and decent prospects of airbursts in the woods.

If he bunches up in the open ground, MGs pin him. If he bunches up in woods, mortars pin him. If he spreads out, the MGs cut off each group from the others by covering the open ground, and you save the mortars. The idea is to slow him down and string out his force over the huge distances the map will provide.

Pick an infantry formation type that uses 2 LMG squads if you can - like Motorized Infantry troops, for example. When split into half squads, they are much more effective than 1 LMG troop types, because the LMG is so much of the overall firepower, especially at range. Regulars are sufficient for the quality level. With a far amount of woods, you might also consider part of the force Volksgrenadier. Some of their squads are pure SMG, others are 2 LMG.

Keep one platoon of SMG-type troops for a counterattacking role, veteran quality. You can consider adding engineer extras to them, but that is not essential.

In a big battle like this, do not skimp on transport (halftracks or whatever). It can make a big difference if you are able to redeploy men from threat to threat. The hills may help with that, be providing dead ground areas to move along, but that depends on the "grain" of the hills you wind up with.

Armored TDs will be more survivable against an attacker who likes arty. Bunkered AT guns on a reverse slope can sometimes work though, too, provided your infantry can hold the ground ahead of them (a body of woods or whatever). Or non-bunkered AA guns on the reverse slope (which will also provide some air defense, and cover deep flanks against light armored incursions by armored cars or halftracks). The idea is to hit small portions of the enemy force as they come over crest lines while the rest of his force is still masked and unable to shoot back at you.

Use the split up half-squads as machinegun nests and interlock their fields of fire across areas of open ground. Then hide, letting HQs spot for them. It can make sense to let the first unit past - often scouts - and shoot the main body behind. A half squad or two cut off ahead of his main body by open ground covered by fire is pretty well dead.

Use these MG nests, AT sniping, hunting by your TDs, and harassing 81mm mortar fire, to slow him down, weaken him. Leave you main body behind all of this, and try to pick a main position that is not too obvious, not an artillery target from the word go, and which cannot be seen by the entire battlefield.

You want to force his strung out forces to bunch up opposite your main force to mass enough firepower to fight you, then hit them with the heavy mortars and counterattack with the reserve if you can.

People will get through on one flank or another, count on it. Have local counterattack forces to cut these incursions off - single assault guns / TDs with some infantry support (any HQ, 2 half-squads preferably with Panzerfausts, a Schreck e.g).

Another wild card that can be useful is a hidden AT gun with very long range in some location with a wide field of fire, but hidden and not firing until the middle of the game. People tend to assume if some location has been in LOS for a long time and nobody has shot at them, that nobody is there, at least with enough range to reach out and hit them. And one good hidden AT gun can do quite a number on enemy armor if you are patient enough to let him really come out into its LOS. One 88 is the idea. But the location has to not be so obvious it gets arty attention in the first 5 minutes.

Don't worry about the objective areas. Turn off the "flags". Just worry about defeating the enemy - if you do, you will manage the rest and if he defeats you, he will manage the rest.

Whatever you have left, buy more TDs. Spend the leftovers after the last one you can afford on a few obstacles and put them wherever, without clustering them near you main position. Just cover them with an MG nest half-squad, maybe a hiding Shreck.

There is a way to attack this sort of defense, by trying to engage your men piecemeal, a few at a time, with a large portion of his attacking force. What will work against him there are #1 limited time - it takes more time to attack in sequence one after another a bunch of small positions, #2 providing longer range ambush chances for your TDs farther back, peeking out at the locations near your next little strong point (you know just where that is, because you picked it) and #3 bunching up his infantry then getting pinned down by the mortars and losing more time.

I realise the above can seem like a lot to organize and assemble. But the basic idea is simple enough. You want his early attacks to hit thinly spread forces in lots-o-little packets, while your armor and main position stay safe farther back. Then react to where he comes, ambushing with your armor and pivoting on your main infantry position as a sort of safely held area. (The infantry position effectively makes certain areas safe for your armor, and also spots for them).

The main line of resistence / infantry position is your shield. Your armor and reserves are your sword. The little guys strung out front are sand thrown in his eyes, so he doesn't know where your main body is but sees little bits seemingly everywhere.

I hope this is helpful, and good luck.

[Olle Petersson]

One option that might be worth to consider for you is to get one or two FOs for rocket artillery, together with a TRP.

The big map will allow you to have the necessary standoff distance between your troops and the target point.

Guess where the enemy concentrate his troops during setup and saturate this general area with rockets ASAP, the larger the calibre the better. With a bit of luck this will halt the attack before it starts.

Cheers

Olle