The Battle for Schwend. New Scenario at CMMODS

[SgtMuhammed]

This was one of the most enjoyable fights I had while OPFOR at Hohenfels. I am working on making a campaign that reflects a typical Hohenfels rotation.

May 2000

Hohenfels, Germany

Rotation 00-03 Day 5: BLUEFOR attack.

Defenses are always boring as OPFOR, especially since the OC’s have gotten in the habit of giving away our hide positions so the BLUEFOR can drop arty on us. We already lost one vehicle to a weapons kill so he will be just a target for the rest of the mission. Seemed a rather inauspicious start to a mission I already felt bad about. Our tank support was Blue tank (3rd Platoon D Co) which used to be good news. Their new Lt, however, just didn’t seem to get it and the entire platoon’s performance was suffering. Right now he was sitting with two other blue tanks on the Quarry as counter recon. Needless to say I didn’t have high hopes.

At about 1700 we got the call to occupy our near hides and moved up to within a couple km’s of our defensive position. When we arrived Blue was engaged with BLUEFOR recon elements (Sorry I can’t remember what unit we were fighting) and had killed two Bradleys and an M1. It would turn out that this was Blue 6’s coming out party and he acquitted himself quite well. As pressure mounted we were directed to move to the backside of the ridge. I had my driver push up to the bottom of a trail that would bring us into the saddle in the middle of Quarry Hill. There was a wooded area there that I could use to assess the situation without being shot as soon as I showed myself. I was hoping that we would be moving into position immediately but the old game of “hurry-up and wait” began. After about 15 minutes I told Ruchel, my driver, to keep an eye on the Lt’s track in case he tried to get our attention, I was going to listen to the command net to see what was going on.

Blue tank was fighting for its life now but seemed to be holding its own. A Div Recon BMP had moved in to help them out but had been quickly killed. One Blue tank was dead and the other was a gun kill. Blue 6 was a mobility kill but was still fighting. Some BLUEFOR Kiowas began to buzz the area but were quickly driven off by Red Duck, our attached ZSU23-4. Blue 6 killed two more Bradleys and it began to feel like the party would soon be over. The fun, however, was just beginning. Suddenly Red Duck was on the net:

“Cherokee 6, Red Duck. Do you have any people moving on the quarry?”

“Red Duck, Six (Capt. David Puckett, one of the best company commanders I ever had). Negative, we are not moving.”

“Cherokee 6, Cherokee 5, there are Bradleys on the Quarry!” That was the XO who was running around in an unarmed track (well he had a 240 but that wasn’t much help against armor).

“Roger 5. Cherokee 36, Six, clean it up.”

Hell yeah, I thought as I switched back to platoon net. Ruchel jumped down his hatch, a handful of pine cones that he had been throwing scattered about the track. I settled in behind the gun and prepared to move. 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3…. “36, 32 (that was me, 3rd platoon 2nd squad leader), we going or what?” The new Lt was ok but a little indecisive.

“32 roger. go!” (Music to my ears.)

As we gunned up the hill I dropped my NODs into place. It was now about 1800 and quite dark. We taped PAQ4B’s to our guns for aiming but they were only good close in. At range, at night we BMPs (113s actually) were limited to PVS7s while the tanks could use their thermals.

Topping the ridge was like moving from a quiet hallway into a rock concert. In front of me there was one of our tanks (M60s that we used to simulate T80s) racing across the Quarry trying to draw fire. Well it was working. To my immediate right was a Bradley trying to finish the big boy off. A quick burst from my MILES cannon “killed” him. Flashing lights and exploding Hoffman charges and arty sims made me feel rather exposed. So I told Ruchel to shoot over to the right and get us into some heavier trees. Christian had been driving for me for several months now and knew exactly the cover I wanted depending on what I wanted to do. As we sped up the hill I heard the Lt report that he was out of the fight.

Now I was alone. Blue 6 had finally died and Cherokee 32B had no weapons. Below me was a DIV Recon track shooting at something, whatever it was the guy was a terrible shot and was about to die from a Bradley that was rolling up the slope. Luckily he hadn’t seen me and died as had his brother. Immediately I started taking near misses from a Bradley just west of the town of Schwend (One of the MOUT training sites setup throughout the box). Christian gunned the track out of harm’s way and we took a quick second to check our status. No damage so we began to creep forward to get back into the fight. I could see the Bradley climbing the hill and fired a quick burst at him that sent him running into the town.

“Let’s get that son of a bitch!”

Christian gunned the track and we chased the Bradley into the town. Stupid. If he had stopped and waited for me I was dead meat, adrenalin makes you dumb. Luckily he continued through the town and down the road. I put a burst into his rear turret and headed back up the hill to find more prey.

On the opposite side of the saddle I came up was a hill topped by a lone tree that we nicknamed the “Bonzi.” I headed behind it to try to come up from a different angle and ran straight into two Bradleys. I did the BMP version of a spray and pray as Ruchel gunned us around the hill into reverse. At that moment 32B came roaring around the hill. He had no gun but the Bradleys didn’t know that and switched targets to him. I quickly put a burst into the lead track and killed him but was hit by the second Brad as he retreated down the hill and received a mobility kill. I was in the worse possible position, on the bare side of the hill, unable to move. Flashing MILES strobes were making it hard to see and then arty began to fall. Fire-marker hummers began tossing arty sims all around my track as “Bitching Betty” began to call out “Near miss, artillery. Hit, artillery.” I was waiting for the chorus of “Vehicle kill, vehicle kill,” when instead I heard the sweet phrase, “Cease fire, Cease fire, Change of Mission. All Cherokee vehicles rally at check point 37.” The battle was over, time to head to the house.

Final BDA: 11 Bradleys (5 to me)

4 M1s

1 Kiowa

OPFOR: 4 BMPs (They only sent 6 not including the XO and his 240 armed track. The

other surviving BMP was a Div Recon track that never got into the

fight.)

3 T80s

1 ZSU

We had a company of National Guard augmentees in Schwend who were waiting for a dismounted attack that never came.

It turned out that while I was running about the Quarry the CO had sent 1st platoon on a wide flanking movement that put them in the BLUEFOR rear. They killed a couple tracks and the rest retreated and the battle was ended.

The scenario that these screen shots were taken from is based on that battle.

That's me on the right. That's PFC Jackson. I can't find a picture of Ruchel.

Schwend from the south. BLUEFOR attacked from this direction.

BLUEFOR losing the counter-recon fight.

Me killing something.

Platoon photo at Hohenburg castle. That's me, front row far left. Ruchel is the second guy kneeling from the right on the front row.

[ February 05, 2008, 09:49 PM: Message edited by: SgtMuhammed ]

[ChrisND]

Those were the days. I'm glad those days were over.

No Germany training rotation will be complete unless you can model horizontal rain.

['Card]

I was thinking the other day about how much I'd like to create some scenarios based on a couple of training rotations I did with the Blackhorse Cav at the NTC. Unfortunately, I was just a grunt who spent most of his time humping Mojave or riding blind in a vismod BMP, so I don't really have the kind of mission-specific specs I'd need to do any of it justice.

[SgtMuhammed]

Originally posted by Normal Dude:

Those were the days. I'm glad those days were over.

No Germany training rotation will be complete unless you can model horizontal rain.

Not rain but something just as fun.

[ February 05, 2008, 09:50 PM: Message edited by: SgtMuhammed ]

[Nidan1]

Isn't it grand what we do for love.

[SgtMuhammed]

For people we probably wouldn't like if we ever met them.

[SgtMuhammed]

The scenario based on this is posted at CMMODS. It is under Sgtgoody.

My M1 NATO camo mod will be posted soon as well.

[gibsonm]

For what its worth, its a great one to see how marked an improvement 1.06 is over 1.05.

and its NOT MOUT

[SgtMuhammed]

Shameless self bump.

[molotov_billy]

I've only played a little bit, but the scout action is great! Lots of tactical thinking early on. Will play more tomorrow.

That map was a beast. Seems like it's on a whole different level of realism than other battles. Combined arms is a must in this one.

[ February 06, 2008, 10:36 PM: Message edited by: molotov_billy ]