Darknight (DC) Posted July 6, 2002 Share Posted July 6, 2002 Well, here's the first of the AAR from the final rounds. I was matched up against R.C. in "X Marks the Spot". I wrote the AAR turn-by-turn, so it contains my thoughts as each turn played out. AAR: X Marks the Spot Briefing Info: May 1945, clear weather, very dry conditions Daytime Meeting Engagement; 30 turns Map: Medium-sized, various pockets of scattered trees, mostly flat Town in the centre of the map; 4 VL (N, S, E & W parts of the town) Starting Point: Extreme northeast corner of the map Starting Forces: all SS 1944 troops Company HQ (Reg) 2 x HMG teams (1 Reg/1 Grn) 81mm Mortar (Grn) Panzerschreck (Reg) “B” Platoon HQ (Grn) 2 x Inf Squad (1 Grn/1 Reg) “C” Platoon HQ (Reg) 2x Inf Squad (1 Reg/1 Grn) “D” Platoon HQ (Grn) 3 x Inf Squad (2 Grn/1 Reg) My basic plan, at least to start, is to capture/secure the VL to the east of the town and send the rest of my forces to secure the buildings in the NE part of the town. I’m assuming that I can take the VL to the north of the town with any reinforcements as they advance and then figure out a way to wrest at least the southern VL from my opponent later. Turn 1: I start by sending one of my depleted SS Rifle platoons (with a HMG team and a Panzerschreck team under command) to the eastern edge of town where I’m anticipating being able to secure the eastern VL. There is a large heavy building in the centre-NE part of town and I’ve decided to move the Company HQ and a HMG team to this location (it may be a bit of an obvious choice but the heavy building can take a bit of punishment and I can get a higher view of the battlefield). At first I was thinking about leaving my 81mm Mortar team with the Company HQ, but I found a better spot for it with decent LOS (and hopefully it will stay safer…. I’ve had some bad experiences with on-map arty being too close to the fighting). I have one full-strength SS Rifle platoon, which I decide to allocate to the centre of my front. From here I can react more strongly to any surprises from my opponent. This leaves me with one depleted SS Rifle platoon, which I send to the more northern part of the town. I’ve located a small rise in the centre field and I figure that I might be able to get a platoon hidden on the small reverse slope. I’m estimating that it is going to take at least the first 5 turns for most of my forces to be in position and even then, my heavier weapons are going to lag behind (half of the first turn is going to be command delays) but my opponent is likely going to have the same problems and by then I expect that we’ll see some reinforcements. Turn 2: No new orders this turn. My men are already tiring but I think they can suffer for a bit (they can rest later). Turn 3: Reinforcements arrive. I receive a duplicate of my starting forces (a depleted SS Rifle 44 Company (hey, isn’t it supposed to be May ’45 ), except instead of two depleted platoons and one regular strength, I have two platoons at regular strength and one depleted; they arrive at the extreme NW corner of the map. I set about ordering one regular strength platoon (with attached HMG & Panzerschreck teams) to the NW side of the town, towards a cluster of buildings at about the midway point between the North and West VLs. I decide to move my second Company HQ to a heavy building near the North VL and place the 81mm Mortar team in a nearby grove of trees with sight to the East VL. With reinforcements arriving so soon, I can modify my original plan a bit and replace the depleted platoon from my initial forces, which was ordered to the area near the North VL, with a depleted platoon (plus attached HMG team) from the reinforcements; the released platoon is redirected to strengthen the first Company HQ position and its replacement will become my Reserve. I’m left with a single platoon and I have two thoughts on its use: either to strengthen my units in the town, or I could try to infiltrate along the western edge of the map. I would like to go the daring route and try to catch my opponent in the flank, but the conditions are clear and the ground is relatively open. The success of an infiltration will largely depend upon whether my opponent observes what I’m doing or not, and I can’t be guaranteed of staying hidden from view. Ultimately, I decide to move them towards the western edge of the town, but a little slower than my leading troops, hopefully buying some time to recce my opponent’s movements before I’m forced to commit to a final decision. Turn 4: I still cannot see any of my opponent’s forces on the map. My forces have taken control of the Northern VL. The forced marching is killing my men, but they can rest when they’re dead ( ). Turn 5: Okay, now it’s time to be a bit more careful with my men. I slow down the reinforcements approaching from the northwest so that they are not exhausted when they arrive. One of my original platoons has breached the town perimeter and is deployed near the Company HQ (they have decent LOS and will have a turn or two to rest now). My other original platoons will be in position by the end of this turn (sans support weapons...they are frustratingly slow to move). I have also spotted my first British unit this turn; it appears that my opponent is either making a wide sweep around my left flank or he just didn’t drive them as hard for the eastern edge of town. I am now going to assume that he has spotted at least some of my own units. Turn 6: The British units have begun firing on my central platoon in the town but this is ineffective as the distance is still around 300m. I have also received 2 Tiger I’s (1 Grn & 1 Reg). I leave the original company alone for this turn to recuperate from the run and speed the Tigers to the northern edge of town (meanwhile, I’m wondering what my opponent received if I got 2 Tigers...I’d probably be less worried about this if I had received Panzer IV’s instead but I figure he must have a veteran Firefly or something to offset my Tigers). Turn 7: My men are resting in cover and the enemy seems to be willing to expend their ammo at long distances, so I’m feeling that I’m in a pretty good position. I have spotted a large body of British troops to the southeast of the town. It seems that a portion of them have headed for the South VL and some others have attempted to close on the East VL through some scattered trees. I’m feeling like I’ve spread the squads of the platoon on my left flank a bit too far apart but at this point I’m not moving them until they’re rested up or they get forced out. If my opponent presses an attack on my left in any strength, then this platoon will be annihilated or routed but if he just probes a bit then I think it’ll hold until I can get a Tiger into position for support. Turn 8: By now, most of my original company has at least partially recuperated from their run but their support weapons will still be another turn or two before arriving. My Tigers are moving up to support my left flank. Some British troops have moved through the South VL, and it appears that another British platoon is trying to turn my left flank, while it looks as if the British support weapons and possibly the third platoon are also going to move towards the South VL. I have good sight of most of the original British company but the distances are still to great to open fire and expect any significant results. Turn 9: Well, my men decided to open up on the British troops along the left flank (not too bright as the distances are still considerable). The British did fire into one of the advancing support groups but this had minor effect. I now have a good idea where his mortar is and possibly an AT weapon. I also have a pretty good idea of where his platoons are deployed in the southeast. I have received 2 additional Tiger tanks as reinforcements this turn ( :eek: ) and promptly ordered them towards the northwest portion of the town. My first section of Tigers is now in the northeastern part of the town and I order them to hunt forward (hopefully they will do some damage to my opponent and force him to show his armour assets). I also move the reserve platoon from the first company deeper into the town to take advantage of some of the stronger buildings as cover. I am slightly worried about my 81mm mortar team, which is being targeted by a British mortar, but I leave his orders as they were and target the British mortar too (the mortar was so slow moving up that it was caught in the open). Turn 10: My tanks have opened up on some of the British units; I still cannot see any of his tanks. I’m going to assume that for at least a few turns he’ll be wondering if these are truly Tiger tanks or just a misidentification. I can see about a platoon of British troops (4 units) beginning to move through the southernmost buildings in town and have engaged some of them; they appear to be heading for the Church. I plan on using a tank to soften this platoon up a bit this turn. There is also what appears to be a depleted British platoon in the houses to the southeast, with an AT unit also approaching this location; I plan to remedy this fairly quickly with my other tank, then back off to stay away from any lucky AT shots. I decide to halt my original 81mm mortar team where he is and return fire before I lose him for nothing; I figure that since my opponent is already expending shells with one mortar, I’ll target the second one I think I can see (with the added bonus of a nearby MG?). There appears to be a complete British platoon forming on my left flank (with an attached MG team still lagging behind…nice to see that it’s not just my support weapons that are painfully slow to advance). I think I can hold there with the platoon that’s already in position…as long as I can see him I’m not worried. The British reinforcements seem to have stopped for tea before marching on the town and I estimate another turn or 2 before I need to worry about them. Meanwhile, my reinforcement company in almost entirely in position (sans support weapons again L), resting and observing. I still wish I knew where his armour was heading though. Turn 11: Well, this was probably the last turn of skirmishing…the battle is just going to get more intense now. My tanks fired a few shots at the British infantry in the southern houses and it appears that I have eliminated an AT team (some good luck). It also appears that I have knocked out a British mortar (what I had originally thought was the MG? team), although my 81mm mortar is now panicked and I will have to wait to see if he will be of any more use (but a mortar for a mortar is better than nothing if it comes to that, and he’s expended most of the other mortar’s ammo on my 81mm team as well). The British have also found my left flank platoon HQ and are concentrating on it, so I’m going to readjust one tank’s targeting for some direct fire support. I also made sound contact with British armour this turn (no sightings yet), and it appears to be moving off-road behind a small depression to the south of town. I do some rearranging of my troop dispositions on the west side of town, as by now all of my platoons are in their originally ordered positions. The thought briefly flashes through my head that perhaps I should assault his squad inside the Church but I think waiting another turn or two might be wiser, especially since I’m more concerned about locating his deployment of armour. Turn 12: Okay, now I know he has Churchill VIII’s (95mm gun, low velocity). Two are approaching through the southern part of town and another is heading along the road to the southeast of town. We’ve traded some casualties but I still think I’m in good position, and with a little luck in my tank hunting, who knows? My left flank seems to be giving a good account of themselves and I’m pretty sure the lead British squad is taking casualties. I’m repositioning my Tigers for flank shots at the Churchills and I’m going to try to distract one of the British tanks with some long-distance AT shots from my Panzerschreck team hidden in the woods. But my big decision this turn is to attempt an assault on the British squad in the Church with approximately a platoon’s worth of troops (unfortunately the most convenient units to use for this purpose are green…I guess I’d better keep my fingers crossed, eh). Now is the only feasible time to attempt this manoeuvre, as his reinforcement company is now within about a minute’s march of seriously joining the battle. Turn 13: Well, I managed to immobilize one of the Churchill tanks to the south but my eastern flank took a beating from his other Churchills. I lost most of a squad in a building explosion and will have to make some more alterations to my plans. Also, the assault on the Church has started but there was a second British unit in the building as well (perhaps the platoon HQ?); I’ll have to find a way to support this attack. (Arrrgh!!! :eek: …I’ve just noticed that my Tiger tanks have no AP capability, only HE…that’s just cruel Ted). I’m committed to continuing my assaults now and will have to just hope for the best. Turn 14: Holy $#!^! :eek: Okay, I want to trade my 4 Tigers armed with their 88mm gun (but no AP rounds) for my opponent’s 5 Churchills with 95mm guns (and no AP rounds). Tigers without AP are de-clawed kitties. I figured I was getting a good side shot on the Churchill that was creating havoc in my left flank, only to be immobilized when 3 Churchills showed up to the southeast of town. I had assumed we’d have equal numbers of tanks (a thought which was reinforced by the lack of AP in my Tigers) and that the trick would be to see who figured this out quickly and would use their armour properly as infantry support tanks. Now I’m feeling like I might have been a bit overaggressive in my planning. Presently, I have the equivalent of a stationary (but well-armoured) 88mm gun, although I have been immobilized in a fairly dominating position, the east-west road through town where I can dominate the left flank (and therefore the East VL). Now I give my left flank Panzerschreck team orders to retreat and make for rear cover so that I might be able to use him in the town if the Churchills decide to close on the town (I’ve realized that these are now my best-available AT capability and kick myself for wasting some precious AT rounds as a diversion). Also, I’m still trying to get that 81mm mortar to lob some shells but I think he’s shellshocked. I’m also ready to shoot the HMG team (Grn) that made it to the Company HQ location and promptly jammed their weapon…they haven’t even fired a shot yet. Now, on to that other debacle which I instigated…“the Church”. I hope that I’m at least causing my opponent some concern because I surely am not having much luck. I sent an entire platoon (almost) into the Church and now only have two squads left (the other isn’t annihilated, just routed and running for the rear…he may still prove useful). One British squad is pinned inside the Church, so I’m going to try to knock that one out first and hope for the best. On my right flank, I can see hordes of British troops approaching the town from the southwest. I’ve decided to try doing some damage to the moving troops with my Tigers on that flank…to Hell with worrying about his tanks (they’re mostly hidden by smoke at this point anyway). I still have a platoon in reserve and with only half of the game completed, I don’t want to commit it to battle too quickly. Okay, now to hold my breath and wait. Turn 15: Well, I didn’t come off too badly this last turn. I think my troops in the Church routed a British squad, although another ran in to take its place. The Churchills are really devastating to my troops in the buildings though. I finally have that 81mm mortar on my left flank firing. This turn is just going to be chaos again…my primary concern is finding ways to avoid the incoming 95mm HE shells. I also notice that my opponent is using Crew? units in the front line of battle (I’m guessing knocked out mortars, since his Churchills are still intact)…this may prove expensive for him if he loses those crews. Turn 16: At this point, I think this battle is going to be decided by a few lucky shots. If neither of us can eliminate the other’s armour, then it’s going to be a two-sided massacre. My left flank is crumbling under fire from 2 Churchills (I could have held on here indefinitely if I were able to take care of the British armour). I don’t have many choices here, the left flank troops will have to die where they stand and hope to take a toll of British troops with them (the Platoon HQ was lost last turn and the movement delays would be ridiculous). I’m going to use my left flank tanks to reduce a light building strongpoint this turn and hopefully catch a large number of British troops in the collapse; the right flank tanks will continue with anti-personnel duties. I can observe a large concentration of British troops in an orchard to the southwest of town and, fortuitously, I have an 81mm mortar team in good position to cause some chaos (hopefully). Also, my HMG teams are in place to try and chew up those troops who choose to run for it. I must be doing some damage to my opponent b/c I can see some British squads making for the rear. Finally, the battle at the "Church of the Shedding Blood"…my two squads (both Grn) are still hanging in there. One British squad fled last turn, and a new squad took its place. I’m battling a Platoon HQ?, a reduced squad (Vet) and a damaged squad (Grn) (hey, hold on a minute…where did the British get Veteran squads from?…the German troops are all Regular & Green). I’m going to concentrate on routing the Green Squad this turn in order to even things up a bit. I can only continue the attack here for another turn or so b/c of ammo depletion, then I’ll have to attempt to evacuate and leave the remnants for my tanks to blast. Turn 17: Well, this was a much better turn for my troops. My original tactical plan was to take the town early, thereby forcing my opponent to have to fight his way in, and at this point I’m feeling vindicated. I’m pretty sure that the second British company, which approached the town from the southwest, has taken heavy casualties while attempting to infiltrate the town (at least it appears that the majority of 2 platoons are in retreat). My hold on the left flank is still tenuous due to the almost uncontested superiority of his firepower on that flank right now (2 Churchills). The British tanks are systematically destroying any of my troops they can gain LOS to in the vicinity. Of the original depleted platoon that was deployed on my left flank about the East VL, only 3 men remain (and they’re split between two squads). Fire from the British tanks has also routed one of my HMG support teams this turn but with events on the right flank going my way right now, I can afford to give up the East VL, at least temporarily. Unfortunately, my Panzerschreck team on this side shot off its last round without orders from a brutal distance. Now to the better news (for me, anyway)…my green troops in the Church have held out, running out of ammo at the end of the turn, and eliminating the HQ unit, routing one British squad (Grn) and all but destroying the other squad (Vet). These units also have some Panzerfausts between them, so I may yet get a shot at the Churchill parked behind the Church (at the very least, control of the Church will allow me to flank the British tank with my own armour). My Tigers also destroyed the building he was concentrating in to the south of the town. As an added bonus (and a great stroke of luck), one British Churchill made its way in front of this building during the turn and then rotated its rear towards my Tigers; the tank driver must have been a direct descendant of William Wallace, intent on provoking an emotional reaction from me with the armoured version of “shooting the moon”. Alas, we shall never know because one of my Tigers took offence at the gesture and rammed home an 88mm shell through his rear armour, causing a massive explosion; I seriously doubt there were any survivors :cool: . I did have one of my right flank Tigers immobilized by several track hits this turn but he’s still in good position to continue blasting away, for now anyway. This turn I’m going to focus on trying to take out the Churchill behind the Church (hopefully by blasting it from two sides with my Tigers). Turn 18: My left flank defense is broken (you can only ask so much of the troops). I can accept this for now…if everything works, I’ll be able to take out the Churchill by the Church this turn, either with my Tiger tank pushing south through the gap or with the panzerfausts of my troops inside the Church (if luck is on my side and his tanks remain occupied where they are that is). If I can take care of another Churchill this turn, I’ll breathe easier. On my right flank I’m just going to continue wreaking havoc among his valiantly advancing troops. I also still have my fresh reserve platoon waiting to move in when the time is right. Turn 19: Lots of explosions this turn. The two British Churchills advanced on the left flank, one towards an immobilized Tiger and the other directly towards my Tiger advancing at the Church. The British Churchill at the Church moved too far forward last turn and tried to reverse back behind the Church but one of my heroic squads from the Church assault blasted him with a panzerfaust from about 10m distance. This leaves me with an armour advantage, especially on the western edge of the town where the British troops are being slaughtered. I also estimate that the British AT capability consists entirely of Piats attached to the platoons (which means probably 6-8 Piat teams to worry about). I have eliminated 2 Piat teams and spotted 3 more, leaving likely one more to worry about. My biggest concern this turn is to get some squads into position for a shot at his armour on my left flank. I have two different squads waiting with panzerfausts, a decoy Panzerschreck team and the Panzerschreck team from my right flank all making their way into position (not to mention 2 Tigers). On the right, the carnage continues…there are definitely 2 platoons worth of infantry moving in the opposite direction from the battle. I also have to start worrying about ammo levels now as some of my squads are beginning to run short. I’m also still withholding my reserve force. I want to take care of his armour support on my left and then use them to take the East VL or, failing that, push straight through the town and secure the South VL. The next turn or two will decide which course I take. Turn 20: Damn. If I could have kept his Churchills busy for another minute, I would have been fine but my opponent split them up and advanced on the town. Right at the end of the turn, my immobile Tiger on the left was abandoned after a lucky strike (I didn’t see the shot come from his Churchill, so I assume it could have been the Piat I haven’t spotted yet…so much for my pincer strategy). I’m going to have to commit my reserve in order to get some troops with panzerfausts close enough for a shot at the Churchills, so I order them to make their way to my Company HQ inside the heavy building in the town. My Panzerschreck team is also sneaking into position. Also of concern is the fact that my other left flank Tiger and a Churchill have passed within 10m of each other. Now I have to try and rotate before he can blast me in the tailpipes. This is a turn to hold your breath :eek: . Turn 21: This was a strange turn. I was lucky in that my squad closest to the easternmost Churchill got an accurate panzerfaust shot off prior to being wiped out (the members of that squad, and the other squad in the Church, deserve Iron Crosses for their service). The other British Churchill didn’t fire a round this turn…I was wondering if I may have damaged his gun (regardless, I have to move my Tiger this turn or become Piat bait, so we’ll soon find out). Speaking of which, I located the last Piat as it sprinted across the open area near the East VL in order to get a good shot off at my Tiger. I’m going to have to try and suppress that unit this turn (my Company HQ is the only available unit for this task…hope he’s accurate). On the right, I’m continuing to chew up the enemy forces and eliminated another Piat. Now I’m fairly confident that I know where all of his AT capability is located. Turn 22: I’m not sure what happened to the British Churchill by the Church but I suspect that its gun was damaged because during this turn it was immobilized by a hit and then the crew bailed. The Piat didn’t stop to try a shot, instead running for a nearby building. The British also assaulted a house, on the eastern edge of town, which contained two less-than combat ready units (a Panzer crew and the empty Panzerschreck I was trying to bait the Churchills with). I don’t think he is aware of my approaching reserve platoon. Turn 23: He got one shot off at my Tiger but it was ineffective. The Tiger successfully backed up towards the South VL and is now in good position to blast the final British Churchill to Kingdom Come. The British troops have now secured the East VL but the assault on my remnants in the house on the left has been costly for them (one British squad was eliminated this turn and replaced with another squad which immediately hit the dirt upon arrival, my empty Panzerschreck team took to their heels and successfully extricated themselves to a safer position near the Company HQ, and the Panzer crew is holding on tenaciously with pistols and no ammo). I estimate the remnants of two British platoons on my left flank and approximately one-and-a-half platoons making a go of it from their foothold in the southwest of town. This turn I hope to eliminate the last of the British armour, scatter the British forces in the southwest of town and recapture the house on my left flank. Turn 24: Well, everything can’t go my way I guess...that frustratingly slow turret traverse allowed the immobile British Churchill to get the first shot off and it damaged my gun. Now I’m going to have to readjust my armour forces a bit and move my other mobile tank to the left flank to clear out the British. I’m going to concentrate on his forces in the town for the next few turns I think. Turn 25: Another Piat eliminated this turn (the one on my far right flank). I’ve successfully moved my mobile Tiger on the right across the town, where it will support my final assault to retake the East VL. The British must be getting desperate because I observed the Company HQ sprinting for the building where the fighting is taking place. This turn I need to reduce his troops in the building on my left (with my tank supporting, this should be accomplished. Once these troops are eliminated, the only British infantry troops left in the east part of the town will be an MG, a platoon HQ and one squad. The light building to the west of the Church is still causing some problems but it will have to wait. I have enough troops in the Church to keep it secure but not enough ammo to make an assault yet. On my right flank, I think some of the British squads have regained their morale and are regrouping, but I think I can keep them from causing too many problems. Turn 26: The loss to the British of their armour support is really giving me free reign of the battlefield at this point. My troops forced the British out of the building on my left flank and cut them to pieces when they tried to flee. The Piat on this flank also stumbled into a crossfire from 2 Tiger tanks and was eliminated. The building containing a concentration of British units near the Church was also hastily abandoned this turn when a Tiger tank began shelling it. On the right flank, the distances are still too extreme to worry about wasting more than HMG ammo this turn. I plan on eliminating the British troops around the East VL this turn and reducing the British troop concentration in the south of town. If I can remove the infantry threat from the south part of town, I may get a shot at that final Churchill. Turn 27: That damn Churchill is still causing headaches. I lost a few men in a building explosion and now its set its sights on one of the squads I had earmarked to secure the West VL. I’m going to try to take care of it this turn. Turn 28: The British are all but completely routed on my left flank. The Vickers team was eliminated (actually, it appeared that they tried to surrender but the Platoon HQ in close proximity to them must have changed their minds and they were subsequently cut down attempting to retreat) and the only intact infantry squad ran in circles desperately searching for cover. I was able to move my Panzerschreck team to within 25 metres of the Churchill but they missed their first shot (and now have to run for cover because of the amazing turret traverse rate of the Churchill). A British squad is making a run at my deep right flank but I’m sure I have plenty of firepower to make them duck and cover. One thing I have noticed is that the Churchill creates a large amount of smoke when it fires from a stationary position, thereby blocking its own LOS every other turn or so. Turn 29: Well, the left flank is secured (although the VL hasn’t changed hands yet b/c there are some British units still pinned there). The British finally abandoned the house near the church and I’m going to try taking care of them this turn. Also, my Tiger is moving west along the south road and will help rout any British troops still clinging to this small corner of the town. I lost my Panzerschreck but he kept the Churchill busy for most of the turn. On my right flank, the dashing British squad was forced to abandon any thoughts of turning my flank by an intense concentration of firepower. Some of the other British squads are starting to fire back again but the distance is still too far to be decisive. I am also setting up the movement orders for the platoon that is going to secure the West VL (supported by a Tiger) and will use up the last smoke rounds from my 81mm mortar team to try to screen them from LOS with the Churchill. Turn 30: My troops have eliminated all opposition on my left flank and secured the East VL. The planned assault on the remainder of the British troops in the town made some headway and should eliminate the British units within another turn. My second attempt to take out the Churchill didn’t work out so well either…I was able to get the squad to the building, but with no HQ to assist, they didn’t get the panzerfaust shot off and were eliminated when the Churchill blew the entire building…this also had serious repercussions for my other Tiger tank, as the building had been blocking LOS between the two tanks, which targeted the now visible Churchill but couldn’t eliminate it and the British tank damaged the gun on my Tiger (this is the 2nd gun-damaged Tiger this game…coincidence?). On the right flank, I have almost an entire platoon on the West VL, protected by some smoke from my 81mm mortar. My plans were disrupted by the loss of yet another Tiger gun…hopefully, his Churchill continues to concentrate on trying to eliminate my tank and gives my infantry a break. The East VL is secured and I think there are only 2 British units on the east side of the town (an infantry squad containing 3 men which is in full retreat and a mortar team that was last seen in the house to the far south of the town). I will have almost a full platoon on the West VL by the end of the turn, supported by a Tiger…I’m pretty sure they can secure this location against my opponent. There is going to be some more close quarters fighting in the houses near the Church this turn as well. Final: The Churchill did concentrate on my gun-damaged Tiger for the entire turn. At the very end of the turn, the crew abandoned her despite not receiving any penetrating hits (and at this point, the Tiger on the left took it upon itself to blast smoke around the Churchill to protect its fellow tank crew while they escaped…remarkable :cool: ). My troops near the Church eliminated all British opposition and turned their attention to the final battered- but-determined British troops maintaining a foothold in a pile of rubble at the southwest of town. I have a full platoon on the West VL with no nearby opposition, a Tiger and parts of a platoon dug in to the orchard near the South VL, the exhausted equivalent of a platoon’s worth of troops on the East VL and the North VL was never disputed. AAR: Axis Tactical Victory Axis Score: 68 Men OK: 111 Casualties: 120 (27 KIA) 1 Mortar destroyed 2 Vehicles KO’d Allied Score: 32 Men OK: 48 Casualties: 211 (67 KIA) 4 Mortars destroyed 4 Vehicles KO’d Final Thoughts: First off, that final Churchill crew deserves a Victoria Cross (at least the tank commander does, everyone else will have to settle for DSO’s). It buggered up my plans more times than I can remember and caused WAY more damage than it showed on its Kill Report (most of my infantry casualties on the west side of the town, immobilized a Tiger tank, gun-damaged 2 other Tiger tanks, disrupted and annihilated every assault I sent to try and take care of it). I usually play British/Canadian troops in regular games and so have never really been on the receiving end of the Churchill (great blast value, heavy armour, EXCELLENT turret traverse); it may be a slow tank, but speed isn’t always the winner. Next, I have a newfound respect for the value of the panzerfaust; of three attempted assaults on British armour, two were successful and the 3rd failed mostly because the squad had no C&C with an HQ unit (an absolute necessity when dealing with Green troops). An infantry squad is much more robust than a dedicated AT team, and an opponent might not worry as much about an infantry unit closing on his tank. And, on the topic of Green troops (of which approximately half of my force was composed)…I thought they performed admirably, and in some cases exceptionally. The entire secret is to keep the units in Command and Control (and with the Command bonuses, it wasn’t too difficult). I had two Green squads rout/eliminate an entire British platoon inside the Church. The British had at least one Veteran squad in the platoon but I’m not sure of his C&C situation during the battle. A quick scan of the bodies left on the battlefield indicates individual units from several different platoons in the same area, so C&C may have been a decisive factor. Finally, I’ve learned never to take any units for granted based upon assumptions that I have about those units. For example, I received 4 Tiger tanks during this battle and immediately formulated a basic tactical deployment for them based on the knowledge that my opponent would likely have strong armour support as well. I never bothered to initially check my ammo loadout and this came back to haunt me. I had assumed that with the Tigers I could take on whatever armour my opponent had without too much worrying but after the first engagement wherein my Tiger and his Churchill traded several non-penetrating hits, I noticed that I was firing HE rounds (because that’s all I had). The Churchills were probably saddled with the same handicap. After some limited success in the armour-vs-armour engagements, I decided that it was better to let my opponent blast away at my tanks while I provided infantry support and caused chaos among his troops. I think that this (and the fact that my troops infiltrated the town early to obtain defensive positions and observation of enemy movements) was the most important deciding factor of the battle. I got a few turns of blasting my opponent’s approaching infantry before he joined in and created the same havoc among my troops in the town. As a final note, I'd like to thank my opponent for a good game. [ July 06, 2002, 01:11 AM: Message edited by: Darknight_Canuck ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperTed Posted July 6, 2002 Author Share Posted July 6, 2002 DC, Simply fanatastic! I especially enjoyed the part where you noticed your Tigers had no AP ammo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker Posted July 12, 2002 Share Posted July 12, 2002 Breaking Through AAR Jim Liang: German SS Rifle 44 Chris Walker: US Airborne A GV Tournament Final Scenario by SuperTed The map: 1 km x 1.2 km. Small Allied setup zone in SW corner. In dead centre of map: Central Park, a small pond surrounded by scattered trees surrounded by a circular wall surrounded by a circular paved road lined by narrow strips of tall pines. Four small flags just off the road at 11, 1, 5 and 7 o’clock respectively. A town arranged 4-leaf-clover-style around this centrepiece. Each ‘leaf’ a gathering of mostly small buildings with some large buildings facing the park. Each town quarter crisscrossed by 3 roads that merge into one single road leading diagonally to the nearest map corner. The town is surrounded by small and medium-size patches of scattered trees. These lightly wooded approaches to the town are in turn surrounded by an area extending to all four map edges consisting of open ground interspersed by numerous clumps of tall pines. Other prominent terrain features are two extensive areas of high ground along the centre third of the north and south map edges and large depressions on all sides of the map. Distance from nearest Allied setup possibility to central pond 600 metres. The date is January 1945. The ground is damp, snow is falling. Maximum visibility 250 metres. It feels like Christmas. Allied forces at start: ‘Some of the best troops available’: 1 company US Paras: 1 green, 4 reg, 4 vet. Good company commander, reasonable platoon HQs. 9 MMGs, 3 Zooks, 3 60 mm mortars. 1 FO 155 mm. ‘Enough armour assets to make short work of the German tanks will follow these troops.’ The mission: To capture and hold the crossroads i.e. the town. ‘There seems to be an abundance of German armour, so be on the lookout.’ Very reassuring. Setup & plan: The setup zone (southwest map corner) is so tiny it hardly seems to matter where the troops are initially placed. I intend to push out to both flanks (i.e. due north and northeast) to create ‘safe’ (if that is the word…) zones for the expected armour to deploy without having to worry about Schrecks. To this end I set up one full platoon to move right (northeast), one reinforced platoon to move north, and one weaker platoon to move diagonally towards the town in the map centre. Turns 1 – 10 The US troops fan out. The leftmost platoon swiftly occupies the depression north of the setup zone, the centre platoon reaches the town and spreads out behind the two southern VLs, and the right platoon occupies buildings in the southeast section of the town. Care is taken to keep the units hidden from enemy eyes. This is made easier by the fact that visibility is 250m max. Working out LOS is a bit tricky to say the least due to the weather and the small yet frustrating elevation changes built into the map by Ted. Four Greyhounds arrive, surprisingly on the hill south of the town, and are split equally between the left and right flanks. Four Stuarts arrive on the road in the initial setup zone and are dispatched to the front, three to the left and one to the right. In the meantime the MMGs and mortars have caught up with their platoons. The units in the depression on the left advance cautiously into clumps of pines to form a LOS screen between the western map edge and the town. Two Zooks are also positioned slightly to the back of this screening force. Two Greyhounds provide more distant cover. The MMGs of the other two platoons move into the town and occupy suitable buildings behind the two southern VLs; an MMG loses one man to enemy rifle fire.. The right platoon then pulls back into buildings at the SE edge of the town. The German commander fires 8 unspotted rounds of heavy artillery, causing two casualties. The US artillery responds by lobbing 6 rounds into the German-occupied section of the town. At this point in time the US forces are arrayed as follows: One platoon in patches of pines on the rim of the depression west of the town. This force includes the CC, three MMGs, one 60mm mortar, one Zook, one green half-squad and two Greyhounds. One Zook has crept into the large area of scattered trees 300m west of the town centre and remains hidden there. One 2-squad platoon guarding the southwest quarter of the town. This force includes three MMGs, two 60mm mortars and three Stuarts. One full platoon occupying the southeast quarter of the town, with one green half-squad, three MMGs, a Zook, two Greyhounds and one Stuart. Turns 11 – 15: Four Shermans arrive on the road leading from the southeast map corner. The US commander was hoping for more infantry… The Shermans are routed to the southeast edge of the town. One will attempt to cross the open ground to reach the west edge of the town. Two are positioned behind buildings on the southeast edge of the town. One remains well back on the road. The Sherman trundling over damp ground towards the west edge of the town bogs, then unbogs, bogs again and very fortunately unbogs. I decide to keep the Shermans on the road. I would gladly exchange them for three Hellcats. Two even. The modified plan: The platoon plus 155mm FO in the low ground to the west of the town will cross a narrow ridge and advance north into a depression through which the NW-SE road runs, accompanied by one Greyhound and one Stuart. The Stuart (carrying a Zook) will then strike out NE to reconnoitre the rear of the German position. The three MMGs will carefully advance from cover to cover to get in range of the west edge of the town, supported from a distance by a Greyhound and a Stuart. The centre 2-squad platoon will stay in place. The right platoon will also remain where it is. The two Greyhounds and one Stuart on the right will drive back down the road leading to the SE map corner and strike out north over the high ground to reach a small depression roughly 400m east of and level with the town centre. The Stuart (carrying a Zook) will continue north to scout the rear of the German position. The Greyhound takes one MMG along for the ride. Up to now, only one German platoon has been sighted, in the town. The Germans seem to be very well hidden. Let’s see what the long range recon patrols stumble upon! Turns 16 – 20 The encirclement of the town proceeds well. A short artillery bombardment knocks out a US 60mm mortar team that decides to leave cover at the exact moment the shell impacts 10 metres away. The US 155mm artillery responds with a short fire mission. The Zook hiding in the scattered trees now has LOS into the German-held NW section of the town. Several sound contacts are noted: armour and light AFVs moving in the town. A number of infantry? sightings are reported. The Germans seem to be moving forward and to the east in the town. It looks like my opponent is going to send a couple of half-squads into Central Park. Probably with a Schreck or two. This means he will at least contest the flags if he remains there. As there is nothing I want to do about it right now, I let him get on with it. It would be helpful if I could identify the Schrecks. I have identified? infantry units corresponding to 2 platoons and three tanks?/light armour? up to now and I know where they are. I assume the German commander has identified? 2 MMGs and 5 tanks?/light armour? at some point in time in my central area. On the east edge of the town, a bored Sherman destroys a light building just for the hell of it (and perhaps to draw some of the German CO’s attention to his east flank). At the end of turn 20, the two long-range Stuart + Zook patrols are about to advance towards the town from the NE and NW, along the respective edges of the high ground in the north. The US platoon with the FO and CC is commencing its west-east approach march towards the NW section of the town, supported directly by two Greyhounds and from a distance by 3 MMGs, a 60mm mortar team and a Stuart. The twice-bogged Sherman is in a defensive hull-down position in the SW section of the town. Two Shermans are in the SE section. This is not entirely satisfactory as an artillery bombardment might well be imminent. However, if the German CO uses unspotted artillery fire as before I would have to send my AFVs a long way back to be 99% safe. The fourth Sherman is some distance away on the road leading to the town from the SE map corner. All the other units remain in place, mainly in heavy buildings but I hope not the obvious ones. They have not moved since taking up positions in the first third of the game. Turns 21 – 25 The town is now encircled by a ring of steel (thin steel, yes, but my steel nevertheless). I am at this stage amazed at the lack of opposition encountered by my scouting 37mm AFVs. They have motored almost fully around the town without seeing a single enemy unit in the countryside. Can he have a few units hidden in clumps of tall pine, and know my every move? Afraid so, there’s no way to be sure about it either way – but I don’t think so. At least I hope not. I sincerely hope not. A lot of action, relatively speaking, in these five minutes. The two German units in Central Park turn out to be full squads. They advance through the scattered trees until stopped by fire from two uncloaked US squads and two MMGs. A Sherman manoeuvres to engage, as does a Stuart. The latter makes a daring run on the east-west road through the SW section of the town into a depression behind a heavy building just off Central Park, from where it engages one of the squads. A German Crew? runs down the paved circular road and is driven off in panic. One of the squads in the park also retreats in disarray. The German commander has brought up three PziV?s from somewhere within the town and has started to bombard the frontmost buildings on the US side of the town. One of my Shermans ventures a few metres too far out of cover and is blown up. Very annoying. I must be more careful with the remaining three tanks. What looks like an enemy platoon starts to advance in leaps and bounds along both sides of the eastern section of the paved road encircling Central Park, my right comes under severe pressure from this infantry/armour attack. One large building explodes with the usual impressive roar, its neighbour will certainly follow. I pull back the MMG and hope it’s not too late. I note with dismay that the Germans have at least one SPA unit. My green Greyhound makes a seemingly foolhardy dash from its position 250 metres east of the town pond into the deep depression to the right of the town, after a prolonged shelling by two Shermans of several buildings on the NE edge of the town. The Hound makes it and motors up the steep bank of the depression hoping to take the bombarding PzIV?s in the flank. This does not succeed, the Panzers reverse to safety. The Hound engages a half-squad in a nearby building instead and is glad to be still in one piece. At the end of round 25 I hold one flag and one of ‘my’ flags – the SW one – is contested. Troop morale is at 85% (with two split squads). Losses amount to one MMG (went up with a building), five infantrymen and three MMG gunners, plus the Sherman. German losses include two reduced squads in Central Park, and some crew-operated piece of hardware plus a few men lost here and there. Very evenly balanced I would say. My left hook is now in position and will attack the NW section of the town in the final 6 minutes of the battle. In a low-key softening-up process a Sherman starts to blow up buildings in that part of the town. The three MMGs on the left have commenced their slow march to their firing positions in the scattered trees left of the town. The 60mm mortar is also in the right place, as are the platoon, the FO and the three light AFVs. Turn 26 will see a general advance of all units towards the northwest edge of the city. The 155mm FO would have been better off in the town; on the other hand, it might have been blown up by enemy artillery fire by now. I now assume that the German force comprises three platoons of infantry, some HMGs, three Schrecks, four PzIVs, plus (if the pattern of previous Superted battles continues) four SPAs (StuGs?) (good grief!) and 4 light AFVs (Pumas?) plus one heavy artillery FO. Intel gathered to date leads to the conclusion that most (all?) AFVs are within the town, that two squads of an infantry platoon have been mauled in Central Park, that one platoon is attacking my right and that one platoon is positioned further back in the town. Turn 26 The two US light AFVs NE of the town advance towards the outskirts. They are destroyed in exchange for two Pumas. The green Hound in the depression east of the town reverses, climbs back up the slope and is targeted by a PzIV. It will certainly die next turn. The attacking German platoon on the paved road advances under fire and takes up positions around the SE flag. I have a full platoon there, in the second and third line of buildings. The Sherman on the SE edge of the town strangely refuses to fire as ordered and is targeted by a Panther? 3 seconds before the end of the turn. This does not bode well. In the centre my intrepid Stuart reverses away from its covering building which is about to be destroyed and climbs back up the slope some 20 metres further left, sights a Puma and destroys it. An artillery bombardment destroys the heavy building in the left town section with my platoon HQ, which fortunately escapes for the loss of two men. On the left, I destroy two buildings and my AFVs advance together with the left-hook platoon. A Stuart targets a Puma 3 seconds before the end of the turn. I note several enemy units (the missing platoon?) in a large area of scattered trees in the NW section of the town. At this point I have lost 1 Sherman, 2 light AFVs, 2 MMGs and a small number of men from various units. My FO will bring down a spotted bombardment on the NW city section within the next 14 seconds. I hope this will take out an assault gun and the last (?) Puma plus a couple of other units. I have 16 rounds of 155mm left. Turn 27 Eight rounds of 155mm fall around the large buildings in the NW section of the town, buttoning two AFVs and panicking some infantry. A bit disappointing. The green Hound is killed. A Sherman narrowly escapes doom from the cannon of a Panther?. The German attack on my right seems to be stuck. A full Rifle squad runs into a tall building, is spotted by a tank and reduced to two or three men. The remainder of the platoon cowers in the pines bordering the paved circular road. My intrepid Stuart motors across the front to find something to shoot at, sees nothing, reverses down a slope and continues towards the stalled German squads. I move two squads into the rubble of two buildings on my right to apply more pressure on the German platoon there. The two Shermans take up ambush positions. On the left, my attack continues in earnest. I have four light AFVs there; one is immobilised by a Puma, which in turn is destroyed by a Greyhound. A German SPA appears and kills a Stuart. The US MMGs are now in good firing positions to cover the advance. The full platoon crests the hill and will start its final run into the German-held NW section of the town, now supported by two Hounds from the west and a Sherman from the south. The FO with eight rounds left will run into a new position with LOS into the centre of that part of the town.. This is a genuine cliffhanger! The Germans are now positioned roughly as follows: On my left, one platoon partly as split squads in Central Park and in the pines bordering the circular road. In the centre, the reserve platoon in the large patch of scattered trees at the north end of the NW town section; three StuHs and probably a Puma around the road. On the right, two squads in pines bordering the paved road; two PzIVs and a Panther?. Turn 28 Disaster strikes on the right flank. A skilfully positioned Schreck in Central Park gets one of two Shermans there, and the remaining Sherman (unbuttoned and in an ambush position) refuses to fire at an advancing PzIV and is destroyed. This calamity leaves my platoon facing three German tanks. I assume the troops are questioning my decision to send their Zook off with the long-range patrol… The left-hook platoon successfully completes its run. The squads lose two men. One squad is now in the rubble of a building destroyed by my last Sherman left of and just above the heavy building facing Central Park, one is in rubble 40 metres below the first squad, and squad three is further down heading for the large patch of scattered trees 100 metres west of Central Park. Two Zooks are also attempting to find an opportunity to do some damage. Turn 29 On the right, and after much deliberation, I pull out the entire platoon and run it towards the SW flag. This is a crucial decision as it means I will certainly lose the battle on points. Without any armour capable of standing up to the PzIVs the squads would certainly be destroyed in the final two minutes. The platoon loses one man in this retreat. In the centre left, my two squads run into small patches of pines bordering the circular road just in time to drive off an SS Rifle 44 squad, assisted by my last Stuart. The Schreck that killed my Sherman on the right has in the meantime found a new firing position and gets off a shot at the moving Stuart and misses by a few metres. It will certainly try again within seconds. On the left, the northmost squad remains firmly emplaced in rubble and drives off an attack from the north by the German reserve platoon, assisted by fire from the MMGs on the western slopes. The US squad in the scattered trees enters the big light building and kills a German MG and a crew there. The other squad also runs into the scattered trees, losing some men in the process. The last Sherman coordinates an attack with a Zook against an assault gun peeking around the corner of the big heavy building facing Central Park. The Zook gets off two shots, misses, but allows the Sherman to hunt into a hull-down position and get one shot off without being spotted. True to form in this battle, it misses and misses again and is killed by the Assault Gun?’s first shot. This is very disappointing. It means that the odds of gaining the VL to produce a draw are now extremely low. The last rounds of artillery do no visible damage. Turn 30 I am now facing defeat even though my infantry is still in excellent shape. The VL I need to secure a draw is guarded by three assault guns, a Puma? and possibly a PzIV from a distance. I have two Zooks and one Greyhound and a platoon of infantry to win the flag. This is clearly impossible given my opponent’s skilful handling of his armour. I must therefore hope to hold one flag and contest one flag. I will nevertheless attempt to destroy two tanks with my Zooks and capture the heavy building. Unfortunately it looks like the German heavies are untouchable. Neither Zook gets a hit. The Greyhound unloads an infantry team into the heavy building and manages a flank shot at an assault gun, a hit but not an effective one, and is then killed. The German reserve platoon makes a run for the heavy building and reaches it just as the game ends. Elsewhere my infantry squads guard the only VL remaining fully in US hands and stay in place around the NW flag to try and contest it. We are now waiting for the endscreen to come in. Final score: Axis minor victory 59 : 37 Post mortem The following miscalculations come to mind: I should have left the Zooks with their platoons instead of sending them on what turned out to be wild goose chases. I should not have ignored the German units in Central Park. I should have handled my Shermans differently. How? I really don’t know (although I was aware of their deficiencies in face-to-face shootouts I found their performance disappointing to say the least). And my plan to attack the northwest section of the town from the left…I’m not sure whether it wasn’t a bit of a waste of time and resources. On the one hand it was fun, it kept one third of my forces safe from artillery bombardment and allowed me to weather the German heavy artillery shoots with very little loss. On the other hand I might well have achieved more with those units – especially the Zooks! – by contesting Central Park. On the positive side, in infantry vs infantry fights as well as throughout the artillery and tank bombardments I managed to keep losses low and inflict quite some damage on the German squads. The MMGs put up a good fight and were decisive in repelling the attack by the German reserve platoon. The FO managed to gain LOS to the desired target areas and fired two thirds of its rounds spotted, unfortunately to little effect. Jim L. definitely deserves to be in this final. He handled his AFVs better than I did, and kept me in the dark as to his dispositions until well into the game. Although our battle developed extremely slowly, and despite the fact that LOS issues caused me much frustration and heartbreak, the last 10 minutes or so were tremendously interesting. Unfortunately, they also revealed my shortcomings in the tank-handling department. Had I taken better care of the Shermans, this would have been a happier AAR to write! Needless to say, I am really looking forward to reading my esteemed opponent’s AAR to find out how the battle developed from his point of view. And: Thanks, Ted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperTed Posted July 12, 2002 Author Share Posted July 12, 2002 Chris, Thanks for the great AAR. It appears your Sherman crews let you down in this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker Posted July 16, 2002 Share Posted July 16, 2002 Yoo hoo...is anyone still out there? I wouldn't mind reading about someone else's (mis)adventures in Breaking Through! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker Posted July 22, 2002 Share Posted July 22, 2002 Just a quick bump so Jim doesn't waste time looking for this thread. He's slaving away at his AAR as I write this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voidhawk Posted July 23, 2002 Share Posted July 23, 2002 Yoo hoo...is anyone still out there? I wouldn't mind reading about someone else's (mis)adventures in Breaking Through! I have a very detailed first 16 turns of the game so far (17k!), then a gap, and somewhere on a computer (I'm not exactly sure which one :eek: ) a detailed end-game. I suspect it may all be just too much, and I may end up summarising it with a more general AAR, as you kind of "had to be there" to appreciate the details anyway. (Hi Silvio Manuel ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvio Manuel Posted July 23, 2002 Share Posted July 23, 2002 Originally posted by voidhawk: </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr /> Yoo hoo...is anyone still out there? I wouldn't mind reading about someone else's (mis)adventures in Breaking Through! I have a very detailed first 16 turns of the game so far (17k!), then a gap, and somewhere on a computer (I'm not exactly sure which one :eek: ) a detailed end-game. I suspect it may all be just too much, and I may end up summarising it with a more general AAR, as you kind of "had to be there" to appreciate the details anyway. (Hi Silvio Manuel )</font> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker Posted July 23, 2002 Share Posted July 23, 2002 Originally posted by voidhawk: I suspect it may all be just too much, and I may end up summarising it with a more general AAR, as you kind of "had to be there" to appreciate the details anyway. Post it. I was there too, and I sure will appreciate all the details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker Posted August 1, 2002 Share Posted August 1, 2002 A swift & savage boot upstairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darknight (DC) Posted August 6, 2002 Share Posted August 6, 2002 Here is my AAR for the Alterna-Brawl final match between Dinga and myself. AAR: Low Ground Briefing Info: Sept 1944, rainy weather, damp conditions Dawn Meeting Engagement; 22 turns Map: Medium-sized, a single paved road runs from SE to NW; Treeless belt on both sides of the road; Scattered pockets of trees on higher ground; Ground rises to effectively place the road in a valley; 4 VL (all running from SE to NW along road at regular intervals) Visibility = approx 440 m Starting Point: Extreme northeast corner of the map Starting Forces: Polish Airborne Company HQ (Vet) 2 x Vickers MG (1 Reg/1 Vet) 3” Mortar FO (Reg) 3 x 2” Mortar (2 Reg/1 Vet) “B” Platoon HQ (Reg) 3 x Inf Squad (2 Reg/1 Vet) “C” Platoon HQ (Vet) 3 x Inf Squad (1 Reg/2 Vet) “D” Platoon HQ (Reg) 3 x Inf Squad (1 Grn/1 Reg/1 Vet) Possible Reinforcements: Polish Airborne Company Platoon of Sherman V tanks My first thought when looking at the map was “Oh my God, the map is wide open.” As I tried to formulate a basic plan, I was presented with only two initial options: 1) I could try to secure the entry location for my tanks and then proceed to fight my way along the road; 2) Or, I could use my initial para company to ambush whatever German armour assets may arrive; Not being very familiar with the Gammon bomb usage in the game, and not having any Piats to provide infantry anti-armour support, I ran a quick test with a few platoons of airborne infantry starting in the middle of a troop of Panzer IV tanks. Needless to say, I was not impressed with the results (the Gammon bombs appeared to be useless, and apart from one squad KO’ing a tank with what was apparently a regular hand grenade, the test was a flop). I was all the more disappointed after the great experience I’d had with panzerfausts in the previous tournament game. This meant I would not be attempting to ambush my opponent’s armour with my infantry squads. At this point, I basically decided that my best bet would be to use my infantry as a screen for my incoming armour assets. If my opponent decides to attempt to move on my armour staging area without waiting for his likely armour support, then I’m pretty confident I’ll be able to chew them up with my combined airborne infantry and armour. If I am only to receive Sherman V tanks, I plan on using my armour for significant anti-infantry duty, as I am not at all confident of success in a wide-open gunfight with no real room for manoeuvre. With all this in mind, I decide to send my best platoon and a MG team towards the centre of the map, close to the 3rd VL (hopefully to gain some good intelligence on my enemy’s movements when his armour appears and maybe later use as support for any assault I plan along the roadway). I send my middle platoon and a MG team towards the lower middle of the map, close to the 2nd VL and my junior platoon along the lower edge, towards the point where my armour should appear. All mortars are grouped with the Company HQ and sent towards a point roughly midway between the first and second platoons to provide the greatest possible area of coverage for supporting fire. My final thought before beginning is that this battle is going to be decided by body count, rather than VL (but we shall see). Turn 1: I place my initial orders: Company HQ is sent to a wooded depression near the mid-point between 2nd & 3rd VL to act as spotter for my combined artillery assets, which are spread out through the orchards behind this location; “C” Platoon is deployed to observation outpost positions near the 3rd VL (hopefully they will remain hidden from my opponent); “B” Platoon is deployed to positions overlooking the 2nd VL; and “D” Platoon is deployed near the 1st VL with a view to forcing a road crossing near the southern portion of the map. Nothing of note occurs during the turn. Turn 2: Still executing the initial orders. I observe several German units moving into position this turn. There is a cluster of units across from the 2nd VL and a few others between the 3rd & 4th VL; I wouldn’t be surprised if my opponent’s strategy is very similar to my own. I am also going to have to assume that he spotted at least a portion of my units on the move as I was still moving when his units came into view. On the plus side, all of my infantry platoons have arrived at their pre-assigned positions and my Company HQ and the 3”mortar team are in position. Turn 3: Reinforcements arrive as expected and are as follows: Company HQ (Reg) 2 x Vickers MG (1 Reg/1 Vet) 3” Mortar FO (Vet) 3 x 2” Mortar (1Grn/1 Reg/1 Vet) “E” Platoon HQ (Vet) 3 x Inf Squad (2 Reg/1 Vet) “F” Platoon HQ (Grn) 3 x Inf Squad (1 Reg/2 Vet) “G” Platoon HQ (Vet) 3 x Inf Squad (1 Grn/1 Reg/1 Vet) I have my original Company HQ and its attached 3” Mortar in position so I decide to give the Germans near the 2nd VL a welcoming party (it should arrive the next turn). Some of the original support weapons are still moving forward this turn. I am going to send most of the reinforcements along the lower map edge to assist “D” Platoon in crossing the road. “F” Platoon is going to be my Reserve, centrally located, and I’ve attached a Vickers MG team. “E” & “G” Platoons, are sent along the lower map edge to (hopefully) reinforce the road crossing by “D” Platoon; the Company HQ and the 2” mortars are sent to support the assault (I’m hoping to catch my opponent with a split force). The 3” Mortar FO is sent to join the first Company HQ. The last Vickers MG team is sent to join the “B” Platoon positions near the 2nd VL. My left flank will be precarious if the Germans mirror my strategy completely but if only a token German force crosses the road, then I’ll be able to stop it with my nearby Reserve. Well, the Germans are already crossing the roadway at a point halfway between the 1st and 2nd VL’s. At the same time, “D” Platoon is crossing the road below the 1st VL. A few ineffectual rounds are traded and everyone keeps running. Turn 4: I reroute “G” Platoon to catch the attacking German platoon if they gain a foothold and I also set up “B” Platoon to ambush the German assault as it crests the ridge (hopefully that’s the platoon HQ that’s out front). I also set some of my 2” mortars to bombard a few German units spotted on the opposite side of the road. I also decide to try to suppress two of the attacking German units with “D” Platoon by creating a pause in their sprint across the road; if I can cause the German units to arrive piecemeal into my positions, then they should easily be chewed up. It looks like we are both fairly aggressive commanders J. Not much to report…I dropped a few 2” shells without much apparent effect. Both of our advance assault forces turned on each other in the middle of the road (no casualties yet as far as I can tell, but I have figured out which unit is the HQ). I have also spotted what I would guess are two HMG teams approaching positions in the centre of the map. If my tanks arrive soon, then the German troops on the road are in trouble. Turn 5: The only question this turn is whether or not I should expose “B” Platoon and use them to attack the German assault units. Both the German and Polish troops on the roadway have halted and targeted each other (I am gambling on which unit is the HQ and concentrating firepower on it). There is at least one more German platoon racing to the area near the 1st VL. By the end of the turn I should have the equivalent of a company near the 1st VL. I waffle around a bit on giving the order, but eventually decide to be daring and attempt to destroy this German platoon early using elements of “B” Platoon to surprise him. Moving “B” Platoon is not without risks, as now my Company HQ and supporting mortars are on their own, but I just cannot pass on the fleeting opportunity to (hopefully) take an entire German platoon out of the fight early. I also take the opportunity to adjust the movement order for “G” Platoon; I want them closer to “B” Platoon’s positions. Damn. The Germans decided to race up my side instead of exchanging shots on the roadway; they ran right past elements of “B” Platoon racing to engage them and unfortunately, right into the positions I had ordered “G” Platoon to deploy at. I suffered a few casualties this turn but I also positively ID’d the German troop type (SS Rifle 44). Turn 6: Reinforcements…3 Sherman V tanks. (I really wish my opponent had stayed on the road for another turn J). I am going to hurry “D” Platoon across the road and send a Sherman with them for support. The breach has to be controlled this turn…“B” & “G” Platoons can hopefully inflict more losses than they take themselves. Well, something went partially right this turn. The German platoon that forced a crossing of the road is being dismantled; I know for certain that a Vet squad was eliminated and more than half of a Grn squad has disappeared. I received a few casualties spread among various units and lost “G” Platoon HQ (it was down to 1 man after last turn) but I have the alternate Company HQ nearby to take command, plus an unblooded “E” Platoon. “D” Platoon managed to get across the road and safely beneath the line-of-sight of the German defenders. My armour was split with 2 tanks sent towards “safe” firing positions on my side of the road and a single tank in direct support of “D” Platoon. My artillery also began dropping rounds about halfway through this turn, right into his positions near the centre of the map (maybe I’ll get some lucky strikes, eh). I can now estimate that my opponent sent approximately a company’s worth of troops to the 1st VL area of the map (including the Platoon engaged on my side). Two German HMG units have surfaced near the centre of the map and another German platoon is crossing the road near the 4th VL this turn (I am still unsure of approximately 2 platoons worth of German troops that are around somewhere and I’m going to assume that the unit markers near the HMG units are possibly a platoon and maybe his artillery spotters). Turn 7: I readjust “C” Platoon in order to meet any threat posed by the German platoon crossing near the 4th VL; my reserve force, “F” Platoon is also nearby. I am able to target both of the German HMG in the middle with 2” mortars. The remainder of my orders this turn revolve around destroying the German platoon that breached my lines. I also have 2 of my tanks in position to begin shelling the German infantry near the 1st VL. Well, this was a pretty good turn for me…I have all but eliminated the German Platoon (there are 3 men left and they are trying to run away…I don’t think they’ll last another turn). I think the German side lost 11 men this turn and I only had 1 casualty. My tanks are almost in position and my alternate Company HQ has brought the squads of “G” Platoon under Command & Control. Turn 8: I am readjusting some of my troop dispositions this turn. “F” Platoon is sent farther up the map to prepare for action against the German platoon that crossed near the 4th VL. “G” Platoon needs a turn of rest and “B” Platoon needs to be regrouped. My tanks have found protected spots from which to commence shelling the German positions at the 1st & 2nd VL. I got my first taste of German artillery this turn and took 2 casualties; it’s concentrated around my troops that fought off the German breach. I think my tanks did some damage to the Germans this turn and I know that I knocked out a German mortar (my philosophy on artillery fire leans more towards suppression of his artillery first and targets of opportunity later). I also made sound contact with at least 2 German tanks this turn; they seemed to be racing down the road towards me. I’ll have to take that into account and likely launch my “D” Platoon assault earlier than I had planned. Turn 9: Due to the start of the German shelling, I am again redeploying to provide less of a concentrated target. To this end, I order “E” Platoon towards their original objective of support for “D” Platoon, “G” Platoon is dispersed and “B” Platoon is concentrated behicd a ridge. Two of my tanks are continuing their bombardment of the German lines and the other is to position itself to prepare for an assault, or ward off an attack by the rapidly advancing German armour. A lot going on this turn…I am pretty confident that the Germans have 3 Panzer IV tanks rumbling down the road. I also spotted the German platoon that I hadn’t seen yet. I think my artillery has done some good but so has my opponent’s. I had two mortars knocked out this turn, from treebursts I think, but no other casualties from the artillery. “D” Platoon is feeling slightly exposed on the ridge beside the road, as the panzers are making good time in my direction. Whoever can deal with his opponent’s armour will win this game and I am sure that means luck will be the deciding factor because there isn’t much room to manoeuvre (I have done what I can to limit the exposure of my armour to the German panzers…I am not looking forward to a head-on encounter). Turn 10: Not much to change this turn...just worried about that German armour. I don’t think there’s anything more that I could do to seek an advantage over my opponent’s tanks but I just can’t shake an uneasy feeling that everything else I do during this battle rides on a few lucky shots in the next couple of turns. Well, I had a feeling that this turn was going to hurt. Two squads from “D” Platoon stepped off the lower edge of the map (and they weren’t routed or panicked, just shaken) after coming in range of the German tanks. I received 2 casualties from the artillery but the big disaster was the loss of the 2 squads…so much for assaulting the German side of the road. Turn 11: I have been observing the progress of the other German platoon that crossed the road and they are now coming into range of “F” Platoon (the reserve) and “C” Platoon; my guess is that my opponent was trying to sneak behind me to surprise me, now hopefully, I can eliminate a second German platoon because it is without any effective support. I am also dispersing my squads some more to offset the German artillery. Now I’ve come to the decision that I have been avoiding…how to counter the German armour. I presently have 1 tank on the far side of the road and two on the near side…all of my armour is somewhat concealed by the terrain and I have a crossfire situation if my opponent decides to move further towards the 1st VL. Unfortunately, if I don’t come up with a solution for dealing with the German armour, he can just sit there on the 2nd VL and wait for the end of the game, effectively “bottling me up” below the 1st VL. It’s a stalemate that favours the German side, so I need a solution. Well, the bottom-line with this scenario is that there are 4 VL’s sitting along an open road and my opponent and I can trade infantry casualties all game and this likely won’t be the decisive factor (at least it doesn’t appear so now). The player with his armour intact can sit a tank on each VL with impunity, as long as there is some infantry for close support. I have a possible opportunity to race one of my tanks along the ridge to attempt to get in behind the German armour and maybe get a flank or rear shot. I am going to risk a race through the damp ground and trees to get this opportunity. Well, my tank is on the move, along with a lot of my platoons. “G” Platoon has extricated itself from the shelling and is on the move towards the skirmish on my left flank. The German platoon that had crossed to my side has come across “F” Platoon and a couple of Vickers MGs. I have lost sight of the panzers for now but I’ll try to fix that next turn. Turn 12: This turn I am going to concentrate on the German platoon on my left…before it is reinforced by another German platoon, which is presently crossing the road. “F” Platoon has more firepower than the Germans and can hopefully pin them down; meanwhile, “C” Platoon is going to race towards an isolated German squad, which is engaged by two of my MGs. If this works out correctly, then I will hurt the German plan and be in good position to engage the platoon that is crossing the road this turn. My Sherman is continuing its race through the woods this turn. Damn. “C” Platoon took way too many casualties this turn. The turn started badly as one burst of fire hurt three members of a squad form “F” Platoon within the first 10 seconds. Then “C” Platoon got shot up trying to attack the lone German squad. My tank is still chugging along but this was a bad turn overall. I can’t believe that 2 MGs couldn’t keep one squad suppressed. Turn 13: Well, last turn wasn’t a complete disaster, but it hurt. “G” Platoon is ordered to support “C” Platoon for the expected assault by the next German platoon that was crossing the road. For it’s part, “C” Platoon had better start doing its job or else there won’t be any “C” Platoon left in a minute or so; I need to make short work of this German squad to prepare for the fresh German squad that crossed the road. $#!^!!!!! I lost the whole bloody platoon. “C” Platoon was obviously overrated by HQ. That really hurt, as I would’ve expected them to cause more damage than they did. Okay, I’ll have to use my approaching Sherman to do some damage then. Turn 14: Not much to say this turn...I’m still in shock. If I lose the game, then I would pick this as the turning point (not that I’ve given up yet but this will definitely make things much more difficult). The performance of my troops is becoming suspect. I probably exchanged casualties with my opponent this turn but that isn’t good enough. On the plus side, I’ve forced my opponent to move his armour. Maybe now I should concentrate on destroying the German armour and then taking the flags. Turn 15: Now I’m going to have to be very daring with my attempted flanking manoeuvre on the German armour. One of the German tanks has retreated to the 3rd VL in an attempt to prevent a cross-fire, so I’ve rerouted and will attempt to coordinate a 3 on two engagement at the 2nd VL (2 from below and 1 from the side). Now I just need to be able to spot him. Ahh, I see why he has scattered his German Platoon that made the deepest penetration…he has unspotted artillery dropping rounds on my “F” Platoon. Not worried about unspotted rounds just yet….”G” Platoon has it’s hands full with that 2nd German platoon closer to the road (I’m just not having any luck over here). I did accomplish the one thing that I most wanted this turn though and that was spotting the orientation of the guns on the German armour near the 2nd VL. They are both pointing down the road, shelling the half-squad that I’ve sacrificed for this purpose. Perhaps I can generate some luck here. Turn 16: This turn and the next are going to decide the winner…the armour battle begins. I need “F” & “G” Platoons to hold out for at least 1 more turn, then we’ll see how it goes. My hard-driving Sherman is going to crest the ridge to the right of the 2 Panzer IV’s at the 2nd VL. Now is the time to pray. I am happy with the results (good tactics + lots of luck)…my Sherman crested the ridge and took out the closest Panzer IV. The other one got a shot off but it landed short and I should get another side shot at it next turn. I lost the half squad that I sent on the scouting mission last turn when he routed and raced off of the map edge but it was worth it for the intelligence value, which allowed me to try this manoeuvre. “G” Platoon has been chewed up royally and I’m prying that I can salvage a portion of the troops. “F” Platoon has eliminated one of the German squads and hurt the HQ unit without taking any casualties this turn. I have also now spotted the other German tank (still ID’d as a Tiger?), which has climbed the ridge on my side and is moving towards my troops. Turn 17: I need to preserve “F” Platoon, which means repositioning slightly. “G” Platoon is basically on it’s own. This leaves me with the primary objective this turn of eliminating the 2nd Panzer IV at the 2nd VL. The German tank is unbuttoned and I target it with several squads to try and make him button up. I will get ONE shot at this tank with my Sherman before I’m brewed up because the turret is already trained on me (the German tank already got off one shot but missed). I am also going to move my other Shermans out of hiding near the 1st VL to take some shots, since the turret is at a right angle to them. The only thing that matters this turn is eliminating that tank. Well, I did get the first shot off…but it was a ricochet, from 85m distance! Then, the panzer got off two shots before I got to try for a second! Unbelievable, but the panzer was short on the first shot again, then I was brewed up by the second shot (inevitable…the panzer couldn’t miss every shot). Fortunately, the panzer had turned to face my Sherman and I was eventually able to KO the panzer from down the road (although he was able to come about enough to take a few shots at a 2nd Sherman (all short thankfully). I’ve created good armour odds for myself but my poor bloody infantry is still taking a beating though. Turn 18: Lots of action this turn…I need to hunt down that final panzer quickly. I wonder if my opponent suspects that I don’t have any infantry left in the middle to protect my artillery (they were all chewed up during my disasters on the left flank). I’m moving my armour up the road a ways in order to secure the 2nd VL…there isn’t much chance of taking the third until that panzer is gone. Also, I’m hoping for my artillery to drop on his troops near the 1st VL this turn…I could use the help. Okay, the final panzer is moving in to mop up the remnants of my “C” Platoon. I didn’t take too many casualties this last turn (I actually think I inflicted more on the Germans for once). I did have one of my Sherman get shocked. And my artillery is beginning to fall on the Germans near the 1st VL. Turn 19: The die has long been cast for this battle…it only remains to play out the final slaughter. On my left flank, the remnants of “G” Platoon are trying to avoid annihilation at the hands of the combined armour/infantry assault. Although, by sending his armour to that location, I am able to speed a Sherman along the lower ridge towards the 3rd VL…I may still get a shot at that tank. My second Sherman is going to take up a position somewhere between the 1st & 2nd VL’s to support my final moves. I also have artillery falling on the 2 German platoons near the 1st VL this turn. Okay, I’m holding my own for now on the left flank…until that tank rolls over me that is. I lost a Vickers MG this turn but that was expected. Hopefully, my artillery is causing some casualties. Turn 20: I am now racing a Sherman in behind the panzer, which has turned to advance on “F” Platoon. If I don’t move that platoon now, then I’m going to be routed be the panzer, so I’m going to assault the squad closest to the edge. Okay, I’m going to give up on attacking…this is the 3rd assault that I have made this battle, and this is the third platoon that has been decimated…I’ve decided that my troops are much better on the defensive. There’s also another German platoon crossing the road at the 3rd VL…they are within spitting distance of my lead Sherman. Turn 21: Well, I am still not sure who is going to win this battle. I’ve been keeping track and I’m not sure how he’s going to take the VL’s. One German squad was lost early, a second is chewed to pieces on my left flank, a third is ripping me apart on my left flank, and a fourth platoon is in the midst of crossing the road at the 3rd VL (near my Sherman)…this leaves approximately 2 platoons, which is what I estimate is still near the 1st VL. With this bloodbath coming to a close, I figure that I need to secure 2 portions of the road and contest a third to hope to pull out a narrow victory. With some luck, I can hurt the platoon at the 3rd VL with my tank, and “B” Platoon is on the move to that location as well. My second Sherman is closing on the 2nd VL and “E” Platoon is going to move across the road to the far embankment to secure the 1st VL, assisted by the remnants of “D” Platoon (I don’t think my opponent is aware that I lost to squads to the map edge, since we’ve been playing a waiting game near this location for most of the game). I am also ordering “F” Platoon to retreat forwards…with some luck, this will put them near the 4th VL so that I can contest it (I doubt there are many enemy troops near there anyway). Now this is a bit annoying…I just found out that my opponent has squad AT capabilities (I didn’t even receive the piat teams that are usually integral to a platoon L). I lost my lead Sherman to a faust…actually, this is the most upsetting part of the battle so far…I know very well how deadly those things can be and the Gammon bombs of the parachute squads definitely do not measure up to the effectiveness of a faust. Enough ranting. Since I lost the Sherman, the platoon I sent for support got chewed up (what else is new)…I may still be able to contest the 3rd VL but it’s going to be very tough. Not only did I lose the lead Sherman, my final Sherman bogged and is now immobile. I have definitely not had much good luck in recent turns. I was able to get “F” Platoon off and running but I’m not sure if they’ll make it in time. Turn 22: This is it…I have to make a grab for each of the VL’s because the last few turns have really hurt me for points. If I can contest some VL’s, maybe I can squeak by but I’m not going to hold my breath. Well, I think the final result is going to be 1st VL to me, 3rd VL to my opponent, 2nd VL unknown and 4th VL contested. AAR: Draw Axis Score: 47 Allied Score: 39 Men OK: 141 Men OK: 96 Casualties: 124 (40 KIA) Casualties: 174 (57 KIA) 3 Mortars destroyed 2 Mortars destroyed 2 Vehicles KO’d 2 Vehicles KO’d 1 Captured Final Thoughts: I knew going in that this map was going to be very difficult. I think I started with the proper idea but got caught up “putting out the fires” as opposed to carrying the initiative throughout. Both my opponent and myself began with very aggressive moves and I took the wrong lessons from the first engagement. Basically, a German platoon breached my lines and was annihilated by 2 of my platoons (1 which was already in position and another which moved into position during the battle). I placed too much faith in the firepower of my squads (fairly decent b/c they were airborne troops) and decided that attacking an enemy already in place was asking to be annihilated. Unfortunately, this conclusion led me to continue positioning, while my opponent carried the initiative by sending more troops to attack my side of the road. This was also where bad luck and poor timing hurt me. I had figured that 2 platoons could handle the 1 German platoon on my side and had sent an entire platoon (plus fire from an MG) to engage a single squad while the rest of the German platoon was some distance away and engaged by the 2nd platoon. Much to my surprise, my entire platoon was eliminated within 2 turns…I received heavy casualties making the short run to engage the enemy squad and was then taken apart by enemy fire. This was one of the big turning points in the game. I then sent a 3rd platoon to assist because of another German platoon crossing the road and my timing hurt me, causing casualties before effectively engaging. By this point, my left flank was wide open and my options became very limited. Now with the armour, I feel that I was much more tactically sound than my opponent and this paid off for me (again, bad luck did not allow me a complete victory here, but my opponent could probably attest to the fact that I “caught him with his pants down” as it were). I knew going in that I would likely be facing Panzer IV’s (another of the assumptions I’ve made due to this being a tournament game…I could never have made this assumption anywhere else but the conclusions would likely have been same) and that a frontal engagement would likely leave me with 3 burning Shermans. My opponent advanced all 3 of his tanks up to the 2nd VL with impunity (and rightly so, because I couldn’t do a thing about it at that time) and did some initial damage to one of my platoons (which, in another stroke of bad luck, caused 2 squads to exit the map). I kept my armour behind the ridges and sent one tank on an end-run to attempt a flank/rear shot of the German tanks. When my opponent figured out what I was doing, he sent a panzer back up the road to prevent this (I think) but left 2 sitting ducks. I was able to crest the ridge and effectively surprise the two panzers, gaining a first-shot kill on the closest one and bagging the second from down the road when it turned to face the closer threat (really bad luck here, when my 1st shot at the second panzer ricocheted off the side armour…I got brewed up 10 seconds later). My opponent was able to use his final panzer to do what I had been originally hoping to do myself…that is, to provide mobile close support for the infantry (and he did that well). In the final turns, I lost a Sherman to a German squad’s panzerfaust, which came as a great shock. IMHO, those squad weapons are so unbalanced in this type of game…as I had no PIATs, and the Allied squads have no real squad AT weapon…I ran some tests with a company of airborne troops starting in the midst of a number of enemy tanks and the Gammon bomb seems to be really ineffective (interestingly, I did knock out one tank with a grenade though). I know from playing experience how effective the panzerfaust can be. I had made the assumption that my opponent would not have any better AT capability than I would…that was a mistake on my part. The end rush for the flags resulted in 3 flags being disputed and my opponent holding one uncontested (where my Sherman was toasted by the infantry squad). I was slightly surprised that I hadn’t been given one of the flags because I had a platoon and a half of infantry preventing the end-rush German platoon from getting too close but I guess the computer didn’t think so. In the final tally, the discrepancy in casualties came from the disasters on my left flank and the difference in the victory points was probably the one clean flag that my opponent secured at the end. I’d like to thank Dinga for a good game. At one point he said to me that he was really enjoying the game because I made him really have to think; I said that that was a high compliment, to be able to really challenge your opponent. Now, I have this to say to the other finalists, “You had better be careful because Dinga will really make you think.” Thanks for a fun tournament Ted and good luck to all the finalists. Darknight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperTed Posted August 10, 2002 Author Share Posted August 10, 2002 DK, Awesome AAR! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinga Posted August 12, 2002 Share Posted August 12, 2002 AAR for final against Darknight Canuka Scenario – Low Ground Setup 3 Platoons of SS Rifle 44 each consisting squads of 1. 1 grn, 1 reg, 1 vet 2. 1 reg, 2 vet 3. 2 reg, 1 vet 1 reg, 1 vet mortar 1 reg, 1 vet HMG 1 vet HQ 1 reg 81 mm art. Turn 3 Reinforcements 1. 2 vet, 1 grn 2. 1 vet, 2 reg 3. 1vet, 1 reg, 1 grn 1 vet, 1 grn mortar 1 vet, 1 reg HMG 1 vet 81mm art. Well let me begin by congratulating Ted on a wonderful tournament. I have played some great games and this has certainly got me hooked on CM. Now to the game against Darknight Canuka. For those not familiar with the map, it has a road which goes diagonally straight from one corner of the map to the other and has 4 small victory flags situated evenly along it. The Germans begin in one corner furthest from the road, and I assumed the Allies did the same. The road runs along a small valley with steep rise on either side up to a flatter plateau. It is a mirror map with sparse trees and raining conditions. My initial reaction when I first saw the map was that we would have similar forces. This proved to be a fairly accurate assumption from what I could tell by half way through the game. My initial objective was to move a majority of my forces to the middle and left of my side of the road. I ran a platoon to the far right side of the map still on my side of the road to watch over that side and slow any attempted crossing. Once I reached the road I could not see any opposing forces so I ran a platoon to the base of the hills on the far side of the road (left side of the map)(essentially on Darknights side of the map). At this point a platoon of Darknights ran to a similar spot on my side of the road. During this turn there was an exchange of gunfire with a few casualties taken by my platoon. I then pushed this platoon up the embankment into some sparse cover on Darknight’s side of the map and straight into a majority of his forces. This platoon fought valiantly but was overwhelmed by numbers, surprise and the fact they were isolated. By the end of the next turn I had 3 men remaining in a routed! condition back on my side of the map from the entire platoon. Over the next couple of turns there was an exchange across the road between mortars, machine guns, light artillery and squads with some casualties being taken. Around turn 5 or 6, three panzer IVH’s turned up on the right side of the map on the road for me and three Sherman V’s turned up on the road on the left side of the map for Darknight. Darknight immediately spread his three tanks around the road on the left side of the map while I advanced my three tanks along the road towards the middle of the map. Eventually my three tanks were positioned ¾ along the road stopped at one of the flags together and Darknight had his still positioned at the left side of the map out of LOS of my tanks. 2 of the Sherman’s were icons only and I had visibility of the 3rd Sherman. My intention was to increase my kill odds should any of his tanks present themselves. Even though I was exposed I figured 3 tanks against 1 would give me a better chance of hitting (3 shots to 1). During this time I advanced 1 platoon across the road at my far right side to Darknights side of the map with the intention of securing it. Also I had moved a second platoon to the base of the embankment near the middle right of the map shortly afterwards and hide them. This was with the intention of attempting to give myself a buffer so I could secure the 2 flags on the right near the end of the game. The platoon on the right encountered one platoon and some machine gun fire and a protracted exchange began. I had no desire to advance any further and decided at this point to attempt to hold that side of the road. One of the squads from this platoon was slightly isolated but was near the second platoon. Darknight had a second platoon charge this isolated platoon but luckily it held as it was still in command control for that turn. From what I could tell Darknights platoon suffered some casualties during this advance due to fire when advancing and a demo charge upon arrival. The next turn I ran the hidden platoon to behind Darknights second platoon and managed to wipe most of them out. I also pulled one of the Panzers back to this position to support the infantry. At this time I still believed all three tanks were at the left edge of the map. Darknight then pulled a magnificent move that caught me totally by surprise. One of the Sherman’s that I THOUGHT was at the far side of the map arrived at the top of the embankment with a perfect side on shot to my 2 Panzers situated on the road at a distance of about 85m. At almost the same time his other 2 Sherman’s began moving forward (but still had not engaged the Panzers). Both these Panzers engaged the single Sherman at the same time it engaged them. His first shot with the single Sherman knocked out my Green Panzer, with my shot from the Reg Panzer missing. At the beginning of the next turn I thought to myself, this not looking good at all. I was looking at a situation of 1 Panzer against 3 Sherman’s and knowing that his single Sherman would be getting of the first shot. It fired and hit, BUT ricochet off. I couldn’t believe it. Then my Panzer fired and MISSED AGAIN…..(aaahhhhhhh, lots of hair pulling out). Darknights next shot with the single Sherman also missed, but the Panzer got it next turn. This was most fortunate for me as I was not looking forward to my last Panzer against 3 Sherman’s. My Panzer had re buttoned itself and it was at this point that the other 2 Sherman’s began targeting the it. The Panzer managed to get off one more shot at the other 2 Sherman’s before it too erupted into flames. This was all at the end of turn 17 of 22. Now I had to last 4 turns, try not to lose my last Panzer and try and inflict as many casualties as possible. I was staring down the barrel of a defeat as the indicator was showing 30% victory for me and 55% for Darknight. Also on my right I had lost a squad and a half out of the initial platoon that pushed across to Darknights side of the map. The next two moves saw a standing battle between the opposing platoons on the right side of the map with me having that platoon gradually worn down until I had 1 squad eliminated. I had begun to move the 3rd squad over closer to the commander to try and reinforce that edge of the map. At the same time Darknight advanced his platoon closer to my platoon and was continuing to wear them down. The next move Darknight advanced the platoon at the remaining squad with 2 of his squads attacking it directly and the 3rd squad moving to the edge of the map with their commander. During this attack my squad threw a demo charge which shook up the two squads. Also, I had moved the second platoon, on Darknights side of the map, over to the right to help stop his push. I knew that if he broke through, I would then have to fight my way to the flag through him, which was not an ideal situation. This platoon also targeted Darknights 2 squads and helped to wear them down. Near the end of the turn one of the squad panicked and was quickly eliminated and the other was destroyed early in the next turn. It was during this turn that I decided to run another platoon across the middle of the map onto Darknights side of the map. At the same time he was moving a Sherman along the base of the ridgeline. This Sherman had targeted the spot where one squad had been so for the entire turn was shooting at nothing. Consequently the platoon got to the other side of the road and, as luck would have it, almost next to the Sherman without being fired upon. One of the squads had a faust 60 so the next turn, I ran this squad toward the Sherman about 25 yards and it fired, destroying the Sherman. The next turn, which was turn 21, I moved the 2nd platoon (on the right side of the map) further to the right in an attempt to target the remaining squad and commander, however, forgot it was turn 21 and I was a long way from the flag with no one around it. Darknight hadn’t forgotten and began to run his remaining squad and commander down the right edge of the map to the flag. He had also run a platoon at the flag on the far left of the map which had the 3rd Sherman immobile nearby. A third platoon rushed toward the flag near where the recently destroyed Sherman was and was quickly fired upon. During this engagement I took 2 casualties and Darknight had one squad panic and run into near cover. Turn 22 (Final turn). On my left side flag I decided that the best I could do was to try and inflict as many casualties as possible since most of his men were exposed and in the open. I ran a few stragglers at the flag near the end of the turn in an attempt to make it a question mark. I knew I couldn’t win that flag. The result was 1 commander and a HQ nearby to the flag with 3 casualties. I think Darknight took some heavy losses in this area as he ran a squad at my defending men on the ridgeline which was wiped out. The middle left flag I ran 2 squads and a commander at that in an attempt to make it a question mark. Darknight ran 1 depleted squad, I think, at the flag with the result begin a question mark. Darknights platoon that was rushing the middle right flag had one squad eliminated and didn’t make it to the flag. I managed to get one squad near the flag and consequently had control of it. The right flag was rushed at by all the squads on that side. Darknights remaining squad made it to the flag however took some casualties in the process. I managed to get a number of men in the vicinity and consequently the flag became a question mark. The final score was Germans 47/Allies 39. 1 flag Allies 1 flag German 2 flags ? The significant parts of the game were in my opinion. Luck – especially by me with the deflection from the Sherman which allowed me to destroy one of them. Luck – the meeting of the second Sherman and my infantry with a faust. Me pushing across to Darknights right side of the map and forcing him to attack through my forces to get to the flag. Having exposed forces on the left side for one turn which enabled me to inflict casualties which all count in the end. I was aware that Airborne troops are significantly stronger in close combat. I attempted to keep some distance between my forces and Darknights. Only close in advantage that I had were demo charges. These proved to be quite effective as they either caused a number of squads to become pinned or panic enabling me to inflict further damage without being fired upon. On my right I attempted to set up a buffer zone between Darknights forces and the flag in order to force him to come to me. This would enable me to inflict casualties as they were running towards my positions. The MG’s were effective, however my squads were constantly kept in command radius which prevented them from becoming pinned. Once I had a foothold I could see other forces pushing over in an attempt to isolate them. I needed to provide further support for them and to prevent me from losing the foothold that I had established so pushed the second squad over. I had the 3rd platoon in the middle but held off sending them over with the hope that its Commander would recover from being routed. This never happened and, I could see that I had an advantage on the far side of the road and needed to push that advantage. I ran the platoon over with the HQ (which only had 2 members remaining due to the art.). Fortunately for me they ran over while the Sherman was targeting where one squad was. One squad had a faust so I ran that squad at the Sherman. Luckily for me the faust hit, else I would have probably suffered a large number of losses as during that turn as Darknight ran a platoon towards where they were. This squad was able to inflict some casualties once it had dealt with the Sherman and its crew. My initial intention was to probe Darknights defences and attempt to find a weakness. I managed to get a foothold on my rights side and pushed more troops there in an attempt to get some type of control or buffer between Darknight and the VL flags. Darknights mortars and art were effective in the middle causing one commander to become routed. This platoon was taken over by the HQ and eventually KO’d the second Sherman. The art and mortars destroyed 2 of my mortars before they could use many rounds and also caused casualties in my HMG’s but my HQ managed to keep them under command and prevent them from becoming panicked (though they were pinned for quite a while). In the end it was the overall casualties which made the difference and I attribute that to being able to set up a defensive position which Darknight had to try and push through. I feel I had some luck in this match and Darknights tactics with his armour definitely caught me off guard. Thanks for the game and also thanks Ted for organising such a great comp. Dinga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperTed Posted August 14, 2002 Author Share Posted August 14, 2002 Dinga, Very nice. This AAR thread is really getting some great reading material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker Posted August 16, 2002 Share Posted August 16, 2002 AAR The Crucible Jim Liang: US Chris Walker: German A GV Tournament Final Scenario by SuperTed The map: A section of Cologne 400 m x 400 m. Mostly paved areas separated by open ground, some scattered trees, some brush. Several buildings are burning, some buildings are rubble. In the centre: Twin Parks, north of which runs Nord Strasse (German side), with Süd Strasse (US side) running below the park. Four flags: one in the NW map corner, one in the centre just north of Twin Parks, one in the centre just south of the park and one in the SE map corner. The date is March 1945. It is a dark and stormy night. Rolling thunder, heavy rain. The ground is muddy. Low visibility. The atmosphere: menacing, claustrophobic. Axis forces at start: Four high-quality platoons of very low-firepower Volksgrenadier Pioneers with three Flamethrowers. One Sharpshooter. One 240mm FO with 30 rounds. Good HQs (morale, combat & stealth). No company commander (?). All locked in place. ‘One reinforced company will bolster your position in a few minutes.’ I’m sure it will, provided no 240mm shell falls in its midst, a possibility that is too awful to contemplate. I hope they enter nicely dispersed… The mission: ‘Secure and hold the area around Twin Parks.’ ‘We need to push forward to set up a more defensible position while we have the time.’ And: ‘Make wise use of what you have.’ Right. I’ll do my best on the applied wisdom front too. Initial questions: How terrible is a 240mm artillery bombardment? I do a quick test and learn some interesting facts: - 240mm IS terrible. It will instantly flatten anything it falls on. This city section is not going to be looking too good 22 minutes from now… - The German countdown time is 2 minutes, the US FO has 1 minute in the timer box - Two minutes elapse between each salvo of four shells, spotted or unspotted - IOW, if I commence fire within 5 minutes I have enough ammunition to last almost the entire 22 minutes How far can units see, and how fast are they over open ground? Again a quick test: - Visibility seems to be 95 metres at night in the rain - A unit running over muddy open ground does not seem to be that much slower Setup & plan: The initial axis forces are locked in place in buildings with the four platoons stretching from two-thirds up the left (SE) map side diagonally down to the right (NW) edge of the map. This means that the NW and the centre-north flags are under German control. Taking the briefing statement ‘push forward while you have the time’ with a big pinch of salt, I assume Ted is still following his quest for symmetry. This would mean that there are in fact some US forces around the two southern flags. In fact, I would assume they are set up diagonally across the map like mine are. So, do I send out scouts to find out whether this is the case, do I advance carefully/recklessly with whole platoons, or do I wait and see where the reinforcing company arrives and then push for the nearest victory location? I have to make good 22 points from the first battle. Sitting still and waiting is hence more an option for the US commander than for me. Taking into account the artillery threat and the fact that my opponent will be well aware of the symmetrical nature of Ted’s scenarios, and assuming the US squads will most probably also be stretched across the map diagonal, I decide to try a withdrawal/swift concentrated attack strategy. First orders: My rightmost platoon (‘E’) will advance on the double south into a cluster of four large buildings on the western map edge, attempting to keep a low profile. They will all enter the same large heavy building. I expect to confront at most a squad. The adjacent platoon (‘D’) will pull back 50 metres, run right (west) and follow the route of E platoon. If everything goes well I might even get behind US lines with E platoon. On the other hand, my squads might get shot to pieces en route. I can only hope for the best. The next platoon in the line (‘C’) will also pull back, then run west, and finally enter the two large heavy buildings facing twin parks. These two building are arranged one behind the other. The front one is a VL, my Sharpshooter is already keeping an eye on things from the top floor. By first pulling back I hope to keep these manoeuvres hidden from enemy eyes. I have no idea how sound contacts are handled in this weather, though. The only units to remain in place, with some slight adjustments, are those of B platoon at the top end of the diagonal, against the east map edge and roughly 160 metres from the south end of the map. I target the FO at the most suitable spot with LOS some 70 metres south. Strangely, it gets a three-minute delay as opposed to two minutes in my test setup. Two FTs will advance to act as my eyes now that the two right platoons are moving out. If I had a CC I would leave two infantry teams with the FTs. I wonder whether Ted simply forgot the CC…? First move: No enemy contact. All movement proceeds as planned. Moves 1-4: E and D platoons complete their careful push down the right flank into positions behind the possible US front line. A flamethrower also risks the trip. No enemy presence is noted. The initial plan for C platoon is modified. The squads will now continue west into jumping-off positions for an attack into the same square of heavy buildings as E and D platoons. Some aspects of the plan depend on when and where the reinforcing company enters the map. By the end of move 4 the 240mm FO is ready to fire a first full salvo; he is targeting the top end of the section I plan to attack. A 105mm FO appears in the SE map corner. I target him unspotted and run him north towards the front line. The German units are now positioned as follows: B platoon on my extreme left with one FT. To its right, a lone FT. In the centre, the Sharpshooter and C platoon. Slightly further right, the 240mm FO. On the far right and fairly far forward, E and D platoons with a FT. Move 5: The reinforced company (Rifle) arrives in the NE corner. Four platoons plus two HMGs and a 150mm FO. Must spread out asap. I send six squads straight up the map with the excellent CC to join the lone pioneer platoon. One platoon to the centre, one to the right. The HMGs start their slog to the front too. I wonder how far they’ll get before the US artillery blows them to smithereens. On the right, I plot a two-platoon attack on a group of buildings adjacent to the centre German flag. The FT will torch a heavy building that looks rather menacing in respect of my planned advance. The 32-metre range of the FT is definitely a disadvantage compared with the 45m US FT range. The 6-squad attack immediately runs into trouble in the shape of a full US engineer squad in a building. Even though the Pioneer platoon gets into the building in reasonable shape it loses one squad almost instantly, one is reduced to 2-7 and one to 5-4. The US squad loses 6 men. Looks like I’m up against engineers; 12 men, comparatively huge firepower. I think I’ve lost a full platoon attacking a single squad. This is slightly embarrassing. Moves 6 –10 Yup. One platoon gone in exchange for 1 full and part of the Engineer squad that turned up in minute six. The firepower difference is huge, but to have a platoon wiped out like that… I put the disaster behind me and plot my next moves. The second platoon attacking on the right wisely (?) returns whence it came from. This enables my 240mm FO to lob four huge shells into the line of buildings where my unfortunate Pioneer platoon got itself wiped out. Alas, only one small building is demolished. I then send an infantry team back into the buildings, assuming the enemy will have withdrawn after the bombardment. No contact in the rightmost building. However, in turn ten it is fired on from the leftmost large building, by a squad and a flamethrower. Luckily it manages to escape relatively unscathed. On the left, my 105 and 150mm FO’s are ready to commence spotted fire. I torch a big building with a flamethrower, a US squad scurries out, another squad appears at a window of an adjacent building and kills the FT, and is engaged by two HQs and a short time later by a Rifle squad. In the meantime my artillery is falling fast, and several hits force the US squad into the open where it is reduced to three or fewer men. A US FT attempting to fire at a building on the other side of the street is also killed in the bombardment, which I estimate has caused a full US platoon, hopefully engineers, to become combat ineffective. I decide to thin out my front line on the left as I expect the US commander to launch his artillery strikes any minute now. I am more worried about unspotted than spotted strikes though. I also withdraw all my FOs and hope they will survive to throw a few more rounds into the US positions. Moves 11 – 18 The expected artillery bombardment commences and causes losses equivalent to one squad in the first minute. My troops are well spread out and I order them to pull back further inside the buildings as the troops closest to the walls seemed to suffer most from a near miss. A brief firefight erupts on the right where my scouting team was driven off. Three German squads get a few bursts of fire off at the US squad, which promptly withdraws. I start my FOs off on their move to the left flank where the decisive attack will be launched in the final few minutes. This move will take quite a few minutes as it involves frantic dashes from building to building. I hope to have them all in position to call down spotted fire on the left commencing turn 18. I now have three platoons of infantry spread out in heavy building along the left map edge, plus the company commander, and a flamethrower lurking in hide mode in a small heavy building within range of the US front line also on my left. Moves 18 – 22 On the left, I start to move up my attack force into jumping-off positions. This is the high-risk phase and I can feel my hair going grey. If my attempts to promote the right as the flank my opponent should worry about have failed, and he drops a few of those 240 mm shells on my troop concentration, it’ll be all over faster than expected. On my right, I send a half squad out to find out if the US commander has decided to pull back or not. It runs into a platoon of infantry and a flamethrower and is eliminated. My centre-right comes under heavy artillery fire but losses remain low. All three FOs are now in their top-floor positions and the countdown has commenced. They are targeting the front row of buildings on the left and the second row left of the centre. My three assault platoons are in place in three buildings on the extreme left. I place my flamethrower under the command of a double stealth bonus HQ and have it crawl a few metres forward in the building. Move 20: The flamethrower torches the heavy building forward of the flag, causing a squad to run onto the street where it is swiftly dispatched. Eight 150 mm shells fall on the second line of buildings, and in the final 10 seconds four 240 mm missiles explode around the leftmost flag, destroying two heavy and three light buildings. An awesome sight! I also send out some half-squads to occupy the scattered trees in front of the flag building (now reduced to rubble). Move 21: The flamethrower – reduced to one man – manages to torch the building to its left. Another squad is forced out into the open and takes cover in scattered trees between the two burning buildings. My attack force – eight full squads – exits the buildings it has been hiding in and makes for the flag. Virtually no opposition is encountered. A US platoon running along Sudstrasse from the centre towards the VL is caught by four 150 mm shells and never makes it. The 105 mm spotter lays a smokescreen around the flag. In the centre, three US squads attempt to storm my centre flag and are stopped by my platoon and an HMG there. They do gain a foothold and one squad will manage to survive until the battle ends. Move 22: The three attacking platoons occupy the flag rubble and all the rubble sites surrounding the VL. An elite squad assaults the small heavy building left of the VL and kills an HQ unit. Two US squads appear on Sudstrasse and attempt to reach the flag. One manages to reach a crater close by the VL and is reduced to three men. On the right, all is quiet and in the centre four US 240 mm shells destroy the flag building and eliminate two squads there. At the end of the game the German troops hold the rightmost flag, the centre flag on the German side is contested, and the leftmost VL is surrounded and occupied by a full company of German infantry. The outcome: Incredible but true: the leftmost flag is contested. The Germans have 68 men on and surrounding it and three US soldiers manage to questionmark the flag. Score: Axis minor victory, 55:38. Casualties Axis 132, US 222. Men ok 151:58. Not good enough to make up the points deficit from the first game. A heartbreaking way to lose the final. Post mortem: My decision to drop a few rounds of smoke around the left flag probably cost me the final. Had there been no smoke, that damn US squad would not have made it into the crater. However, it did make it and that was enough to contest the flag I had to capture. With a minor victory under his belt from the first game Jim was able to sit back and wait for me to attack, a wise and understandable approach. And finally… …my sincere thanks to Chad ’Harrison’, Hawk, White4 and Jim Liang for some memorable battles. And in particular to Ted, for all the work he put in to make the past months an unforgettable experience. This was my first tournament, its one-game-at-a-time knock-out format was ideally suited to the time I was able to invest. On the downside, I now find myself suffering from the dreaded post-tournament letdown syndrome. ‘Fun’ games just don’t seem to be that gripping any more… Chris Walker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperTed Posted August 17, 2002 Author Share Posted August 17, 2002 Chris, "...I assume Ted is still following his quest for symmetry..." I'll have to fix that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voidhawk Posted August 23, 2002 Share Posted August 23, 2002 *** AAR for "The Crucible"; Newbie Reject Finals *** Allied - voidhawk, Axis - Silvio Manuel *** The Scene *** Imagine a square map, entirely covered with buildings, city streets and the odd areas of open ground or scattered trees. Imagine this map to be roughly symmetrical about its top-left/lower-right axis, with 4 VLs along the sides of this diagonal. Imagine a night battle in the rain, with top-notch troops carrying demo charges and FOs with big arty who can't possibly see their targets unless they wish to be hit by their own shells. Imagine flamethrowers lighting up the night sky. Imagine the safe map edge (i.e. the withdraw direction) being towards the enemy's side. You have just imagined "The Crucible". *** Initial forces & setup *** A company of engineers, with 3 flame throwers, A sniper (useless with these short LOS!), A 240mm (!) FO, loaded with ammo And oh yes, all units are veteran or better, and start off padlocked... One of the VLs on my side is in the lower-right corner; the other is near the center of the map, with the other 2 VLs being diametrically opposite (i.e. upper left corner etc). All are in good defensible locations, in that the enemy would have to cross open streets to get to them. This does not help me, as I am 5 points down after the first game, and so need to either cause lots of casualties, or go on the offensive. I can not expect my opponent to come waltzing in and provide me the needed target practice, so I decide to focus on first setting up good defensive positions in the buildings in front of the lower right VL and the area between the center and lower-right VL using 2 platoons. I'm not too concerned about the center VL as it is surrounded by lots of open space and would be almost suicidal to attack. I will send the remaining platoon with FT support scouting towards the upper left VL, if for no other reason than to prevent my opponent from sneaking around my left flank unnoticed. Later, (when the promised reinforcements arrive) I plan to advance on the upper-left VL in force and try to flank my opponent's remaining forces. *** Surprise! *** At turn 4, as my troops ahead of the lower-right VL are moving into their defensive positions, multiple enemy units are sighted in the buildings they just moved into, and in the buildings I have not occupied yet - right on my front door! That is a surprise; how did they get there that fast?! A chaotic close-range fire fight breaks out, and casualties are taken on both sides. Amids the confusion 2 of the buildings on the far right catch fire, and my forces manage to catch the culprit and destroy it - an FT unit! The fighting ends a turn later as quickly as it started, with the Axis forces retreating but leaving behind more casualties than I suffered it seems. My defensive position is actually enhanced by those 2 buildings set on fire, as they now block a sneak attack along the far right map edge. That is a good thing, as my forces in that corner are now less strong than they were before, and would probably not be able to withstand another such attack at this time. In the meantime, my forces scouting towards the upper left corner have a run-in with a couple of enemy squads on reaching the heavy building on the top-left corner of the Twin Parks square. Apparently there is some disagreement as to who owns that property, but this is soon resolved as the resulting close-combat with demo charges reduces the property value to such an extent that both parties withdraw back to buildings on either side of the disputed property. *** Reorganization *** A company of '45 rifles with a LMG. .50HMG, a 105mm and 155mm FO arrive in the lower-left corner at the end of turn 5, and are soon put to work. Two of the platoons head up to the upper-left corner for my promised VL offensive. The remaining platoon and LMG units are sent to the lower-right corner to bolster the depleted defenses there. The .50MG is sent to the center VL building as it has a nice clear view across the Twin Parks. Turn 10 finds my assault force in position just across the street from the upper-left VL; I intend to keep them as close together as possible for maximum short-range effect. The previously disputed heavy building is now up in flames! I'm glad I moved out those troops earlier. This is also somewhat of a bonus, as it also blocks the obvious path for enemy units to advance on my center VL. So far enemy FTs have done me more good than harm it seems. In the lower-right corner I have set up a forward screening force in the buildings previously occupied by the Axis forces in turn 4. They are backed up by FTs slightly ahead and either side of my VL there, and also by the LMG in the building behind them. I feel good about this position. My only concern at this point is arty - those big shells can cause a lot of havoc if they fall in the wrong places. But, with the extremely limited LOS, all arty is bound to be highly inaccurate, and I will not make mention of any of the ongoing shelling (which continues pretty much throughout the entire game) unless it actually has some impact. (Heh!) The trick with the arty is to make sure that the target point is sufficiently far ahead of my own units (so that I don't hit them by accident) but at the same time not so far ahead that I can't hit any intended targets. This will prove to be a delicate balance for both sides... *** Despair *** My assault on the upper-left VL starts of well in turn 11, with all 5 squads assigned to that task moving in to the buildings to the left of the VL building. Not surprisingly, they come under fire from units in the VL building itself, but they in turn come under fire from a couple of squads I left behind just for that purpose. The only small problem is that I left one of the HQ units behind across the street, and it will now have to cover the open area all by itself and is unable to provide C&C for the units in the building across the street. The light building is quite crowded and not a safe place to be (coming under close-range fire from the enemy units in the heavy VL building), so I move most of the squads there into the next heavy building, which will also provide for a good flanking positions. But - disaster strikes! As my units are moving into positions, the heavy building is suddenly set on fire, and my units flee for their lives into the open. Remember, the safe map edge is ahead of me, so those units flee to the far edge of the map. At the same time the remaining units in the light building start to panic and run right towards the enemy VL building, and are promptly mown down, including both HQ units. The only positive news is that I manage to take out the FT unit and a squad in the process of the hurried burning building evacuation process, but I am left with only remnants of 2 squads in the buildings behind the enemy VL. I essentially just lost 3 squads and their HQs, and left 2 others much depleted. Just to add insult to injury, my 240mm arty, which was aiming at the general area to the upper-right of that VL, manages to hit a small building containing one of my elite engineer squads (one of the supporting ones) and wipes it out in one swell foop. It appears I also destroy a couple of enemy units across the street who happen to be moving between buildings, but that is a small consolation for losing the best part of an entire company. This is indeed a dark hour for the Allies. *** Back on the defensive **** While I'm sulking about my losses, the enemy takes matters into their own hands and start advancing both in the top-left corner (where I just lost that squad to my own arty, and hence opened a gap in my line there) and in the lower-right corner where various enemy units bump into my screening force. The upper-left advance is soon put to an end by my second line units there (mainly HQ units), but my lines are thin and I move the remaining squads into better defensive (as opposed to offensive supporting) positions, including the FT unit I have there. My fear is that a concerted enemy attack could blow right through my lines and flank my lower-right positions. My lower-right screening force is in no shape to stay where it is, as enemy units are seen all around. They withdraw (well, run, remember - withdraw is ahead!) back into the buildings around the VL and wait for the enemy to to start their assault. The drawback is that I lose sight of exactly where they are, but they really have nowhere to go but towards me, and my FTs, LMG and 4 depleted squads are waiting with ambush markers set on the streets in front of them at turn 15. Those burning buildings on the far right are really coming in handy now, as I do not have to waste units defending that area. In effect, the only 2 buildings the enemy can use as an offensive springboard are surrounded on three sides by my units, and are within reach of my FT units... *** Revenge! *** Turn 16. Ah, sweet revenge! Enemy units in both buildings are spotted by my FT units, and the right-hand building is promptly set on fire. Enemy units come fleeing out towards me (that reverse friendly map edge thing again), and come under fire from not just the FT units again (I have never seen so much FT action!) but also from the other assorted units that are just waiting for that very event. It is a real bloodbath, and in the end only one remnant of an enemy unit survives the cross fire and runs away to my map edge. Some enemy units are also attacking the heavy building just to the left of the now burning building, and my depleted forces there fight back well but are taking casualties and are in real danger of being over run. But then in a double-revenge move, enemy shells start falling in that very same area and take out all enemy units assaulting my building! The whole area is littered with enemy casualties and my casualties have been relatively light. How soon my despair over my earlier failed assault turns into hope that I now still stand a chance (remember, I have a 5-point deficit to make up). I feel that if I can hold my positions I stand a good chance of winning - but there are 6 more turns to go, and a lot of enemy arty still to fall. *** Under siege *** Enemy shells of all calibers start falling around my positions in the lower-right corner, and some of them land close enough to, or right on top of buildings such that I incur some casualties and/or need to vacate heavily damaged buildings in a rush, as I obviously don't want my troops to be in them when they are destroyed (it might cause them to do the dreaded "forward-withdraw" too). I try to strike a compromise between keeping troops safe and at the same time re-building my defensive positions. Turn 19 finds enemy units advancing through the line of buildings along the right side of Twin Parks, including right into the heavy building that I successfully defended in the turn 16 action, but proved to dangerous (for me) to defend any further. My arty, which I have targeted in such a manner that short-landing shells should hit those buildings, manages not to do so, and most shells land long, not doing any damage as far as I can tell. In the meantime the enemy, presumably thinking that my center VL location can not be that well defended, rushes 2 units up to it right across the Twin Parks area (or perhaps they are spooked out of shelled buildings?). Anyway, they are soon cut down by cross fire from both the .50 in the VL building and from a squad overlooking the Twin Parks from the left in the heavy building there. However, the enemy's idea (if that is indeed what it was) is not so bad it seems, as I only have one much-depleted squad guarding the right-hand approach to the center VL building (as well as the .50 and sniper in the building itself). I split up the squads guarding the now very quiet top-left corner, and rush some of them over to the suddenly active Twin Parks area. Around turn 21 enemy shelling forces my sniper to run from cover and right across Twin Parks; bad move! Continued shelling around my lower-right VL forces the units there to seek safety in less-damaged buildings which are no longer prime defensive locations. I can only hope that the enemy would not want to advance with those shells falling around them. The heavy building just taken over by enemy units there is blown up by a big shells; whose, I don't know! This also takes some pressure of the lower-right area, as another potential jumping-off point is now gone. I'm almost out of HE ammo at this point, which is a shame as my 240mm FO (which still had some shells) is taken out when an enemy shell destroys the heavy (!) building he is in. *** End game *** The enemy has one last surprise for me - more units - that make a last-minute rush from the right-hand side of the Twin Parks to the light building just to the right of my center VL. That building is only defended by a 1-man squad (suffering from HE and direct fire from enemy units) and a company HQ. Although they fight gallantly, and inflict many enemy casualties, they are soon overrun and destroyed or pinned down by the assaulting units, which are themselves supported by yet more enemy units in the buildings on the right of Twin Parks. I have one small surprise of my own - I sneak one of those left-over units hiding behind the enemy's top-left VL closer to the building, hoping (with the help of my other unit already close by) to at least contest that VL in case there are not too many troops left there. *** Outcome *** The top-left and my center VLs are indeed left contested; the other VLs are left one each; no surprise there. So, it is all up to the casualties suffered: Axis - 236 (61 KIA), 47 OK Allied - 186 (51 KIA), 94 OK I understand now that the enemy has concentrated just about all remaining units into that final attack, while I have units left scattered all over the map. Final score: Axis 41, Allied 53: Allied Minor Victory, but more importantly, enough to overcome my 5-point deficit from the first game. Thanks to Silvio Manuel for a very entertaining (but stressful!) game, and Ted for thinking up such a nasty, nasty scenario. *** Final thoughts *** Flamethrowers rule low-vis city fighting. All attacks that failed did so because of flamethrowers scattering the attackers. The heavy arty presence was kind of overkill on this map, especially considering that all shelling was very inaccurate. I felt that it added too much of a random factor to the game. Although the all-infantry battle was certainly fun, I could imagine the same map being used with mixed infantry and light armour-type forces. Throw in some roadblocks and/or player-determined A/T mines and A/T teams and it would be a whole new game. And oh yes, some FT vehicles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperTed Posted August 23, 2002 Author Share Posted August 23, 2002 voidhawk, Originally posted by voidhawk: Thanks to Silvio Manuel for a very entertaining (but stressful!) game, and Ted for thinking up such a nasty, nasty scenario. The heavy arty presence was kind of overkill on this map, especially considering that all shelling was very inaccurate. Agreed, but I included it more for the background effect than anything else. [ August 23, 2002, 12:57 AM: Message edited by: SuperTed ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker Posted August 27, 2002 Share Posted August 27, 2002 Originally posted by SuperTed: originally posted by voidhawk </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr /> The heavy arty presence was kind of overkill on this map, especially considering that all shelling was very inaccurate. Agreed, but I included it more for the background effect than anything else. </font> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voidhawk Posted August 27, 2002 Share Posted August 27, 2002 Just wondering if anybody other than Ted and the most recent participants reads these AARs, as it takes a lot of time and effort to put them together... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leta Posted August 27, 2002 Share Posted August 27, 2002 Originally posted by voidhawk: Just wondering if anybody other than Ted and the most recent participants reads these AARs, as it takes a lot of time and effort to put them together...Some of the not-most-recent participants are reading these AAR's too ... And thanks for all your efforts. The AAR's are really fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker Posted August 27, 2002 Share Posted August 27, 2002 Voidhawk, I feel with you. I guess our battles aren't high-profile enough to merit comments from the masses. I think we'd get more response if we were able to post movies too. Anyway, here's a big pat on the back for your last AAR. It was extremely interesting and thank goodness someone posted one. Well done. Few things irk me more than opponents who fail to write an AAR! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voidhawk Posted August 28, 2002 Share Posted August 28, 2002 Thanks Leta and Walker (and for your AARs too!). Now, if somebody could host these AARs on a website somewhere, I would be happy to add some screenshots of key events for my AAR(s)...hint hint? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker Posted August 28, 2002 Share Posted August 28, 2002 WELL that was a nice round of mutual back-slapping. I'm sure we all feel much better for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voidhawk Posted August 28, 2002 Share Posted August 28, 2002 WELL that was a nice round of mutual back-slapping. I'm sure we all feel much better for it! Yes, the irony was not lost on me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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