Paderborn AAR----SPOILER!!!!!

[Buckeye]

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't played this scenario, I suggest you put off reading this AAR. It will spoil your fun!

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Wild Bill Wilder recently added a new scenario to his already-impressive resume. It's called "Far from over-Paderborn" and is available at the CHMQ site.

I recently finished a PBEM test of the scenario, which features a large contingent of King Tigers, with some supporting infantry, against an armored column of GIs. It was a wild and wooly game, but I managed to pull off a victory for the Amis, 64 to 36. I killed 9 out of 10 King Tigers with a mix of zooks and tanks, usually by ambushing them simultaneously with multiple lines of fire. My opponent surrendered after turn 18, as I began to plaster his remaining infantry.

Here's my AAR:

I fanned out most my armor to the left and right of the road, sending a complement to the village on the right (about a platoon each of Shermans and infantry). I also sent a lone Sherman, HTs, and mounted platoon of infantry up to the center VL, and another set of HTs and mounted infantry followed. The King Tigers in the middle-left make their presence known very quickly, knocking out two or three regular Shermans from atop the hill before I could get them over to the village. I unloaded my infantry and support units that were in the HTs in the road, and quickly moved my crack zook team into a copse of trees on the left of the road, hoping to manage an ambush. I also moved my other tanks, including two Sherman 76s, into likely ambush positions to the left of the road. In the village, I set up an ambush with a zook on the top floor of a building, supported by several Shermans, including a 76.

On the left side, my opponent brought his six KTs across from right to left toward the road. Luckily, my zook happened to be in perfect position, and took out two of the KTs in two turns, the second after moving 25 meters to the other side of the woods following his first kill. Another KT lost a duel with a Sherman 76 (the 76 got the first shot in from the side, missed, was immobilized by the KTs first shot, and finally took out the KT). A fourth KT was lost to one of the M36 Jacksons that arrived as reinforcements, catching the KT as it started to cross the road. However, I also lost a Jackson that tried to run up the open ground on the middle-left side, a regular Sherman that was positioned at the bottom of the hill and went head on with a KT (not smart), and a 76 that killed an Ostwind but got outfoxed by a KT. I also lost a couple HTs in the road.

In the village, my opponent brought two KTs and a half-track in, and my ambush worked like a charm. I lost another Sherman and two squads from the infantry platoon, but the zook took out one KT from the top and my 76 took out another with a beautiful side shot. The German half-track was killed by a regular Sherman which snuck around to the rear of the three AFVs.

So, I now had killed 6 KTs. The battle on the left continued with two of the remaining KTs, which began to hunt forward. I ran my crack zook team around behind their flank, re-positioned my 76 and Jacksons, and rushed another zook team over using my jeep. Well, my crack zook team took out its third KT with a beautiful shot through scattered trees at about 100 meters. The other KT was killed on the same turn by one of my 76s, with a side shot through some smoke that was laid down by my Jackson. My other zook team and the third Jackson also had LOS on the KT when it was killed, so it was badly outnumbered.

In the meantime, my valiant platoon HQ, single squad, half-track, and Sherman killed off an entire platoon of infantry and an armored car before succumbing to the combined onslaught of two King Tigers, a Flak vehicle, and a platoon of Pioneers. I began moving the rest of my infantry from the rear into supporting positions closer to the forward victory location, and brought my company HQ over from the village to re-establish CC over the orphaned platoons closer to the forward VL. I also moved the platoon HQ and squad that was left in the village forward.

Feeling a bit cocky, I rushed two regular Shermans up my right flank, but was met by German infantry that I hadn't spotted before. They shocked both tanks, wounding their commanders. The Shermans managed to kill some of the infantry, but the two remaining KTs moved over quickly, and killed both Shermans, plus another Sherman and half-track I brought forward for support. I also lost a 76 to a rash attempt to flank the KTs, with a schreck team effecting the coup de grace. So much for getting greedy!

So, the stage was set for the endgame. The remaining German infantry and support began to move forward, including a Wirbelwind and Flak Vehicle, and the two King Tigers began to move over from my right. I positioned my 76, regular Sherman, and Jackson in coordinated ambush positions, told my infantry that were providing support in the woods to hide, headed one Jackson around to the right for a possible flank shot, and quickly drove a zook team by jeep into the village, to come at the KTs from behind.

I killed the Wirbelwind with my Jackson, firing straight down the road from the bend. A firefight broke out between my company HQ, two squads, and two supporting HTs and various German infantry units, most of which had been depleted in the previous fights, along with the Flak vehicle. One of the KTs moved to support his infantry, but went a bit too far into the woods. I slipped my 76 around to its rear, killing the KT with a nicely placed shot through some trees. The KT was just about to come into the sights of a regular Sherman and Jackson as well.

My opponent then surrendered. I had about 130 infantry left, in addition to 2 Sherman 76s (1 immobilized), 2 M36 Jacksons, 1 regular Sherman, 1 Greyound, and 3 HTs. My opponent had perhaps a platoon of infantry left, and the one KT and the flak vehicle.

Needless to say, it was an exciting battle. I felt very outgunned at first, but learned some valuable lessons about how to ambush effectively, as well as the value of good zook teams. I also benefited from some dumb luck, such as the perfect placement of my crack zook team.

I think this makes for a very fun scenario. Definitely a challenge for the Amis, but the Germans also needs to be careful or bad things can happen.

Kudos to Wild Bill for another winner!

------------------

"Don't lie to me, Gustav! You're a stinkin' Mac user!"

[Guest ACTOR]

POSSIBLE SPOILER *******************

Buckeye - That mutiple lines of fire component is a key. I surrounded the Tigers and then moved over the hill in mass. This overwhelmed their ability to respond.

One hell of a good scenario!

Keep up the good work WB!

[This message has been edited by ACTOR (edited 08-28-2000).]

[Wild Bill Wilder]

Thanks, guys. Good military tactics take the day. You are both good commanders and know how to deploy and position for your forces for maximum firepower. It should work every time.

Good kills, good hunting. Even King Tigers can't stand up to that kind of treatment

------------------

Wild Bill

Lead Tester

Scenario Design Team

Combat Mission-Beyond Overlord

billw@matrixgames.com