New -- Another Day -- Row II

[John Kettler]

Bumping this, with a plea for more AARs, whether here or in the RoW II AAR thread.

Regards,

John Kettler

[Spanish Bombs]

Another Day AAR

Setup: Not much to do here, although for a brief moment after I send the file to my opponent, I have a

nagging fear that I have failed to rotate my pillboxes, and that their backs will be facing the enemies. Not too much infantry, but with Tigers on the way…. Although, this map is small enough for Shermans to be able to reach out and touch Tigers.

Turn 01: Nothing much, only some minor infantry contact on my left front.

Turn 02: More of the same, not much going on yet.

Turn 03: The minor infantry movement turns into something big. There is infantry everywhere, and aside from a few long range HMG rounds, no firing. The end of the turn, however, leaves a SMG platoon within 25m of an infantry squad. That should be a good turnout for me next minute.

Turn 04: His infantry collides with mine on the left, and my SMG squads are not as effective as I had hoped. I lose half a squad, but take out about the same. At the end of the turn, on my right, I have some 81mm arty about to start landing within the field of fire covered by my pillbox. I get two Tigers to start the next movie…

Turn 05: The Tigers hustle toward the action, one to the right, and one to the road in the middle. Some nasty close quarters infantry fighting on my left, a SMG squad is broken and shattered, and heads toward the rear, while an infantry squad is broken but hangs on. There is American infantry all across my front, but so far I’m causing more casualties than I am taking.

Turn 06: I again rebuff his infantry, but he now as at least four armor contacts moving in his backfield, and one of them routs my advance HMG, which fortunately only suffers 2 casualties, and wisely breaks toward the rear. I have a Tiger squared up to face his infantry, but there is at least one ‘zook team in that formation, although it is 100m off and in woods. Still standing and fighting, but there is no comfort in the numbers here.

Turn 07: His armor takes range of my infantry, while my Tigers don’t quite get the shots. It may be time to fall back, at least to an area where my Tigers can protect more. One of his Shermans takes out a pillbox, easily, and another teams with 3 squads to wipe out a SMG squad.

Turn 08: Another poor turn, my infantry is being mauled, and the Tigers can’t get the range on the American troops yet. This is going to be turning into an all Americans vs. Tigers affair soon.

Turn 09: A slightly better turn, although I still take a number of casualties. My mortar spotter is calling for it practically on his own head, but it lands in the midst of American squads. One of my Tigers also gets a few infantry casualties, as always, too bad about the slow turret and ROF. I have retreated with most of my remaining intact and unbroken squads and HQs, hoping that the distance and open ground between the flags provides enough protection from my armor, to make the rest of this match harder on my opponent than the first part has been.

Turn 10: The remnants of my infantry have fallen back to the second line of defense (trees), with few exceptions. I ‘area fire’ with one Tiger, as it falls back, and let another blunt the infantry charge on my left. At the end of the turn, my Tiger on the right has two Shermans facing it, and yellow and red lines going back and forth at about 225m. This will be an interesting movie, the next one.

Turn 11: Some truly impressive gunnery, not. The Tiger misses a half dozen shots at Shermans at 225m, and shrugs off an equal number. Meanwhile, my last Volksgrenadier squad stands up to his infantry, and turns back at least two squads. A lost opportunity with the Tank.

Turn 12: Finally, a hit with that Tiger, and no ricochets there. The Tiger in my middle pulls back a little, and survives a flank shot before taking out a 76mm Sherman in front of it. The armor odds are at least 3:1, (now 2:1). My infantry is replenished by reinforcements at the end of the turn, which is good because I have few serviceable squads left. I might now have enough to mount some sort of counterattack, especially with two more Tigers on the way.

Turn 13: My opponent does the right thing, I think, and tries to use his Shermans to get multiple targeting on my Tiger, and flank shots. It does not work, however, and my Tiger near the crossroads is like a pillbox, causing infantry casualties and knocking out two Shermans. My reinforcements hustle to the front.

Turn 14: The Tiger at the crossroads now has four notches on his belt. My opponent works hard to get some flank shots, but they all miss, and I am able to knock out a Sherman on the first shot. My reinforcing infantry hustles to the front.

Turn 15: Not so much action here, he gets a few ‘zook rounds off without success at a Tiger from the tree line, but I knew that was coming. My infantry moves on up but it’ll be a few turns before they are rested and supported enough to try to counterattack.

Turn 16: I take out yet another Sherman, this time with one of my reinforcing Tigers working its way up the road. My infantry is starting to get into decent attacking position, and with my next turn orders I move a SMG squad back into the woods it had so hurriedly deserted a few minutes ago.

Turn 17: I only suffer one casualty, from some artillery which begins to land in my middle, pretty big stuff but luckily not where I’m concentrating my counterattack. I back one of the Tigers up, hoping to work for a shot on the Sherman harassing my right side.

Turn 18: I now have half a platoon (the one routed from the same woods 10 minutes ago) back into the tree line, where they wipe out a ‘zook team, and are face to face with an American squad for the next turn. My far right Tiger has worked for a shot on the Sherman on that side, but will have to wait for the smoke it used as cover to dissipate to see if he has a shot.

Turn 19: My end run gets me a ‘gun hit’ on that Sherman, which pops smoke and retreats. My infantry is in a position to make a push back into the woods, where the occasional American unit is falling under the guns of my screening Tigers.

Turn 20: Relatively uneventful, although at this point am pushing forward with the Tigers, and infantry across the board. Am taking enemy troops under the fire piece-meal by my Tigers, while hopefully I am bringing to bear at least equal numbers of infantry. Am in or near the woodline at most points across my front.

Turn 21: Scratch another Sherman, the one on my far right flank. It may have been gun damaged, but it was also a sitting duck for my Tiger there, once the smoke dissipated. I am almost at the point of taking the other flag, and I have his infantry on the run near the middle, and I’m causing casualties amongst those that stay within range of my tanks.

Turn 22: More of the same. I am trying to probe forward, causing casualties amongst his infantry while trying to avoid presenting any flank or better shots against my armor. The far flag is now a ?, and I think I can take control of it by the end of the game. No targets for my Tigers yet, but there is at least one M4 still out there.

Turn 23: I find the Sherman, it causes on casualty, but my squads are within 60 m ‘faust range, plus my Tiger is pretty close to get a shot there, too. I also locate at least a platoon of Americans waiting at the rear of the tree line in the middle. For the first turn in a while, I take a few casualties. It may be time for a close assault on that Sherman, though.

Turn 24: Sure enough, one of my squads uses its ‘faust, and I have caught a bunch of breaks this game. No CAS, faust kills, 7 dead Shermans and 4 live Tigers. I do take some infantry casualties near the end, as a squad blindly stumbles into a squad and a half of Americans. I am trying to get all my tanks in range of his infantry, turning them loose here at the end.

Turn 25: The squeeze is on. At this point it is a matter of trying to cause as many infantry casualties on him as possible while not suffering many myself. I do lose a depleted platoon HQ which had been scouting my far right, but I also am rolling up the flank on my left, and I now have targets, or prospective targets for my Tigers, including an American platoon on my right-center near the front.

Turn 26: More American infantry casualties, I think I’m whittling him down pretty methodically, but I can’t be sure. He does get off a ‘zook round within range, but not a second shot, as the targeted Tiger eliminates the AT team with one shot. I don’t think I suffer any casualties in this turn.

Turn 27: The vice closes. American squads and part squads are being wiped out wherever I can get a Tiger within range and some infantry fire, and my force is pressing hard from my left. Unless he has assets hidden here somewhere, I might even get an auto surrender in another turn or so. I do take a crew casualty on one Tiger.

Turn 28: More dead Americans, including a Platoon HQ, two half squads, a MG, but still no auto-surrender. Am beginning to wonder if there is a hidden cache of Americans somewhere beyond my vision…

Turn 29: More of the same, I even recapture a HMG crewmember that I had lost about 20 turns ago. He must have assets I can’t see on the board, or else he would have autosurrendered by now. I am a little cautious, therefore, trying to avoid the lucky ‘zook round that could turn this into a closer game.

Turn 30: More of the same, although I finally get to the points where I can rout larger numbers of his troops. I kill the remaining men in a company commander squad, and rout several other units. At the end of this game, I’m in pretty firm control of the field.

I capture a total victory (84:16). The autosurrender I was waiting for would have come on the next turn. I sense that this is a scenario which definitely favors the Germans: the Sherman numbers advantage is overcome by the narrowness of the map. Having said that, my opponent had a couple of flank shots on the first Tigers I had on the scene, and had fortune favored him on that account, it may have been a different game. I still feel that I had the advantage in the force selection (4 Tigers is a tough task to deal with), but the tanks in this game also trade fire within killing range for the Shermans. Still, my rear pillbox was never really challenged, or at risk, nor was the rear flag, and the last 10-12 turns were essentially a mopping up operation for me. I would guess that my experience will be the common one for the tournament, but I suppose that one or two good allies players might be able to work a draw or even a minor victory with some lucky ‘zook shots or Sherman flank shots.

[John Kettler]

Spanish Bombs,

I'm jealous! Please see my AAR in the previous RoW II AAR thread for an indication of how many bad outcomes you managed to avoid.

Regards,

John Kettler

[kevinkins]

Guys -

Kevin Kinscherf the designer here.

First thanks for all the AARs! This is a

dream come true to have so much analysis

of a battle that was your own creation (with the

help of the playtesters). I feel very fortunate.

I really encourage anyone to try and get

a battle into a tournament. It is worth

the long wait for the results. Thanks.

The battle slightly favors the Germans based

on 33(!) results. The mean score for the Germans

was 53 and 46 for the US. There were 19 wins

for the Germans and 13 for the US. By win I mean

having one point more than the other guy.

The battle produced 2 lopsided results for the US

and 5 for the Germans. Lopsided = when one side

gets more than 70 points.

I learned two main things: 1. Don't lock units

in tournaments. 2. The map needs to be a bit less

generic even for a tournament.

Thanks again.

- Kevin

PS: Boots and Tracks is going to post a full look at the numbers from all the battles … stay tuned.

[Frunze]

I don't understand why scenario designers padlock units, in general. If it's to keep the AI from doing stupid things with them, the briefing can just recommend "stick to scenario default."

[kevinkins]

That is a reason yes. In this case there

was a chance (I was told) the battle

might be played vs the AI from the US side.

I don't think anyone would cheat but I wanted

to be positive the German set-up was the

same for evryone. In the end I feel silly since

all play was 2-player.

- Kevin

[Holien]

As mentioned by Spanish Bombs,

"hoping that the distance and open ground between the flags provides enough protection from my armor, to make the rest of this match harder on my opponent than the first part has been."

This is the key to the game, as mentioned earlier in the thread.

If the Germans can drop the Tigers back on the slightly higher ground and good LOS, then the American player will rarely, if ever win this game.

However, like all games people play differently and so different results are possible.

H

[ October 23, 2002, 07:47 AM: Message edited by: Holien ]

[Mick_Oz]

Ok... Here is my (travel-delayed) post of my AAR for Another Day - by far the least enjoyable of my five battles. Which ain't surprising since it was a nasty loss for me, compared with four strong wins in my other contests. Bad tactics by yours truly and a resolute performance from Strider, my evil Axis opponent:

Just another fight on a battleground somewhere in northern France. Unfortunately, for the elements of my US ‘spearhead,’ the German opposition in this fight, backed by four Tigers, proved far too strong for my infantry and Sherman platoons. The mission to attack became a mission to defend and ultimately a mission merely to survive.

My initial forces consisted of a rifle company with a few bazooka, mortar and machine gun teams. I also had the services of a 105mm FO. My briefing informed me that I would receive a 4-tank Sherman platoon on turn 5, another infantry platoon on turn 9 and four more Shermans on turn 10. My objective was to press forward and control the road net. In practice, this meant taking two VL’s, both located roughly in the centre of the map but one far to the rear, clearly a tough goal to reach with forces at hand. My troops approached from the west. The map essentially was a rectangular grid with the main West=East road intersected in the middle by another road running North-South. Not terribly interesting.

I placed infantry in approach/scout formation on either side of the road and began an approach to contact. My HMG team spotted one enemy unit, identity unclear, and opened up.. the unit withdrew. I had a bad feeling about the objectives from the outset, especially given the narrow map which would greatly aid the heavy German armour I feared would be lurking. I also targeted the woods near the closest flag with my FO, planning to adjust fire as necessary.

On turn 5, my four Shermans arrived: three M-4’s and an M4A176. I sent three of them, including the M4A1, to my left.. ferrying support teams as required. The fourth I sent over to the right to support a mixed scouting group pressing forward with a Company commander. The infantry on my right was only a thin recon effort. Most of my infantry were concentrated on the centre woods and the centre left of the map. On this turn, contact was made with an enemy mg team which pinned a half squad on the right edge of the map. I withdrew the unit without casualty. Meanwhile, I identified a Tiger rumbling down the north-south road from the left map edge. In the centre, a couple of my platoons had made it to the woods on the near side of the flag but were too far away to contest it. The Tiger was a major worry and I assumed he would have company. I was right.

By turn 7, my men (C Platoon) controlled the centre woods flag but I kept them well to the rear of it fearing AFV fire. My infantry also ran into fire from a wooden mg pillbox in the left centre woods. Although I ordered one of my M-4’s to smoke it, planning an infantry flank assault, my AFV took it out himself on the fourth shot at a distance of about 335 metres. A good development but a second Tiger had turned up on the north-south road.. and my men were getting nervous. I only had one 76mm AFV and this would need a lot of luck in a frontal contest with Tigers.. flank shots would be tough given the map and terrain. The vanilla Shermans would be chewed up. In retrospect, I should have been thinking of withdrawing even at this early stage although I still had reinforcements coming.

Turn 12: Lost first M4 on my left flank.. had put down smoke but failed to mask the identified Panther (really a Tiger) which took it out after several misses. Advance spare platoon leader scouting left woods just short of N-S road wiped out in woods by strong enemy infantry. C Platoon now withdrawn from centre woods and control of VL due to enemy shelling. On far right, my Sherman under cover of smoke to mask LOS from Tigers, forces enemy mg unit to withdraw. Other various support teams, including mortar unit, pinned or shaken/broken by enemy tank or mg fire.

Turn 15: By now, I had concentrated five tanks, including my two M4A1’s, on the far left flank hidden by a patch of woods. I hoped to swarm the Tigers, using smoke, numbers etc and get a kill with one of the 76mm guns. This plan would fail. I also targeted with my 105mm FO the long N-S strip of woods where enemy infantry had revealed themselves in force. All the action and effort was now on the left.. My right was a thinly resourced feint backed by a single Sherman, aimed at keeping the enemy thinking I had numbers there in an effort to make him think twice about advancing.

Turn 17: A lot of action. I’d swung a second M-4 over to the left centre to help clear a pesky mg team.. it was taken under fire by a crack enemy mg pillbox far to the rear.. in SE sector close to the back VL. My M-4 engages and destroys at a range of about 600 metres. Then two Tigers reveal themselves on road near that VL.. and one of them K-kills one of the M-4’s. Meanwhile, my 105mm arty (without direct LOS unfortunately due to the AFV risk) is falling on targeted woods near N-S road.

Turn 19: Lose my first M-4A1 to a frontal shot from Tiger.. thought that bunching the two 76mm AFV’s together would make it a good contest but one distracted by incoming fire from another Tiger near rear VL. F platoon advances in recently shelled woods hoping to mop up enemy infantry. C Platoon takes back control of centre VL now that enemy shelling has stopped. D Platoon under HQ of Company commander advances aggressively to scout woods on far right.. crosses the N-S road and holds at base of woods.

Turn 23: The penny has dropped. After losing a fourth Sherman to Tiger fire, have been withdrawing my AFV’s, including the surviving M4A1 76. My grunts are withdrawing too (with FO covering their retreat on left) but my plan is to keep C platoon at base of main centre woods and hopefully contest flag, while guarding them against massed AFV fire. This plan succeeds in its limited objective. The flag is contested at end and I even had a shot at claiming it.

Turn 27: On far right, D platoon bloodies nose of advancing German infantry in woods but eventually is overwhelmed, with five men captured. A successful stall but at a price. Enemy infantry rushing the centre flag.. firefight commences with C platoon supported by elements of two other US platoons. Most of my tanks now at back edge of map, although Sherman on my right in covering/ambush position hull down.

Turn 30: Elements of B and C platoons having killed enemy Company Commander at centre woods VL, attack two more enemy squads at flag, eliminating one heavy SMG squad…and holding their postiion. A Tiger advancing on flag targeted (flank LOS!) by my right flank Sherman but time runs out before he gets off a shot, damn.

SUMMARY:

Major Axis Victory/ 67 (Axis-Strider) – 27 (Allies- Mick-Oz)

Allies: 125 Casualties (31 KIA); 5 captured; 2 mortars destroyed; 4 vehicles knocked out; Men ok 119.

Axis: 76 Casualties (22 KIA); 1 captured; 2 pillboxes knocked out; Men Ok 121