UK Full Monty

[irwin666]

Hi Folks,

Just a quick query. Has anyone done an AAR for this scenario? I'm in the mddle of it at the moment and doing OK but a bit slow going. Just wanting to compare my progress with someone elses to see how I'm going about it.

Cheers,

Andy

[souldierz]

I don't think anyone has done a AAR for this mission on the forums,but since this thread is up maybe you can do one and post it to let us know how the mission went and hopefully others will do so also as well when finished playing the mission:).

In turn or regardless if you do post an AAR, I might post one up in this thread also, so we can all look at how people made progress in the mission and maybe the mission designer can see how the populace from all over completed their battle puzzle.

[souldierz]

First of, this was another great mission by Paper Tiger. The city was part of Damascus and it was hit hard even before the mission, and while playing, it was bombed and pounded and bombed and pounded over and over again by the British forces. The part of the city on the map was left in ruins by the end of the mission and if the wind so much as whispers, the whole part of the city on the map will collapse and be nothing more then dust and rubble. The place is very brittle now from the fighting, and during the mission, buildings would collapse often and took more pixel lives then the bullets that were fired and also gave the British forces a devastating and very unique blow for the outcome. The remains reminded me of the bombed out ruined city in the war movie ‘Full Metal Jacket’, where they fight the sniper.

On another note, in the briefing it said that the Civilians have fled to the inner part of the city off map, but the civilian density in the game was at Very High. I guess that a great number of civilians stayed and could not get out in time. If so this is another mission that I play as the Brits that’s guaranteed not to win any hearts and minds.

-----------SPOILER----------------------SPOILER-------------------SPOILER------------

In the beginning the mission was very slow going, mostly because of the ATGM threats, also, it seemed that the Syrian forces were set up and waiting to shoot anything that approached with their heavy weapons with a volley of heavy fire. The Brits had to try and be stealthy at first keeping the vehicles back and out of action for the time being and try to get the foot recon troops to spot any enemy. The goal was to try to spot and clear out the ATGMs first so the vehicles could move and use overwhelming firepower as they closed the noose on the city in preparation for the Infantry along with the Challenger tanks to assault the objectives. The temperature was Extreme heat , but did not effect the troops endurance or performance on the ground to badly.

Picture color was altered a bit so you could somewhat read the Landmarks.

The South Yard was occupied by 3rdParty/ FOO(Captain Moorehead) and 2ndTeam/Sniper(Corporal Haig), they remained there during the whole mission. The Tower House compound and the East Yard on the East of the AO(area of operation) near the highway was hit with Linear Howitzer fire and the Bank compound on the West of the AO was hit with area Howitzer fire to soften up any enemy in the area.

2nd Section/ReccePlt(Sgt Mercer) with PartyHQ/Tac Air Control(Major Clark) and 1stTeam/Sniper(Corporal Hammond) were mounted in two vehicles, one warrior and one APC. As the howitzer fire stopped , the two vehicles rushed North alongside the East road and laid down heavy area fire on the East Yard as they passed. The vehicles then pulled up beside the Tower House compound on the East side of it and dismounted. 2nd Section/ReccePlt(Sgt Mercer) with PartyHQ/Tac Air Control(Major Clark) and 1stTeam/Sniper(Corporal Hammond) moved in through a hole in the wall caused by an artillery hit, to clear out who ever was left in the Tower House compound. The compound was clear and PartyHQ/Tac Air Control(Major Clark) and 1stTeam/Sniper(Corporal Hammond)would move to the roof of the Tower House to spot enemy and they would remain there for the duration of the mission and 2nd Section/ReccePlt(Sgt Mercer)remained on the bottom floor for the time being. The Brits in the Tower House would identify and shoot enemy located beside them in the East Yard and at the Garage compound and they would also engage and shoot an enemy ATGM team in the field North of the Tower Houses. Later 2nd Section/ReccePlt(Sgt Mercer) would move and sweep the East Yard house to house and hold in the West house in the East Yard compound for the remainder of the mission. From these locations the Brits can see into and around the city very clearly.

In the West end it was thought that the Signal House near the Railway Line could and may hold some Syrian troops waiting to ambush the Brits as they tried to move to the Bank compound on foot from the South. There was no known contacts in the Signal House and it looked as though it could be used for spotting purposes, but no chances were taken and Howitzer fire was called onto the Signal House, it destroyed all its buildings except for a small house. Later, Section 2IC/Manoeuvre Support Co(Captain Witherspoon) would then move up and hold in the building for quite some time before they began to move North again towards the Bank compound.

Cobra gunship’s were continuously called in to hit the city hard as the reinforcements came into play. Company HQ Manoeuvre Support(Major Bell) would hold at the Store House South East in the AO and A Company HQ(Major Sidney) would move and hold at the South Yard. 2nd Javelin Detachment(Corporal Presnell) would move and rally with the Brits in the Tower House compound and from there they were later able to hit some targets, one being a T-72 M1V(it was very tough to destroy).Two Sniper teams(Corporal Maule and Fraser) along with 1st Javelin Detachment(Corporal Matheson) and Mortar Fire Control(Sergeant Edington) would later rally with Section 2IC/Manoeuvre Support Co(Captain Witherspoon) at the Signal House and remained there for some time watching from behind low walls. Further behind them they had three Scimitars and three Warrior vehicles supporting them in a line.

In the South and on the South side of the Road that leads from the Store House to the South Yard is where 3rd Platoon(Lieutenant Wood)and 2nd Platoon(Lieutenant Inglis) lined up to form up the main push into the city. Behind them for support they had Ten Warrior vehicles. Three Challenger tanks also formed up beside the infantry who were dismounted and holding at the side of the road in a line formation, anything that shot at the troops or the tanks was blown away.

First Phase, the Challenger tanks would later pull up in front of the infantry, and the Warriors would remain behind a down slope out of LOS from the city.

1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) with Assault Pioneer(Sergeant Regan) attached to them, mobilized to the Tower House where they dismounted. From there they would cross the road and move into the ditch and use it to move to the wall of the Garage compound. They blasted a hole and moved in and cleared the Garage compound of enemy. After clearing the compound it was noticed that the entrance was funnelled and made for a good kill zone against the Brits if they decided to move through it. After some time, it was decided that 1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) will pull back to the Tower House compound and the East Yard compound and call for a howitzer area strike to level some suspected buildings. These buildings would be the Repair Shop and Fire station. After the Howitzer fire support strikes destroyed a building at the Repair shop and also destroying one Fire Station building as well as the Fire Station walls, 1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) went back into the Garage compound to see if they could proceed to the Repair Shop and clear it out. When some British troops ventured onto the roof tops of the Garage they received AK fire from the Repair Shop and more Syrian troops were discovered around the Fire Station. Once again due to the rough angle and not being able to get good LOS on the enemy positions, 1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) pulled back to the Tower House compound and the East Yard compound. While the British forces remained hidden behind cover more Howitzer fire was called on the Fire Station and the Repair Shop. 1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) would remain there for some time as Howitzer fire was called in.

After some time and confirming that at least 4 Syrian ATGMs have been destroyed during some fighting, 2nd Platoon(Lieutenant Inglis) would move up and clear and hold the Tool Shed compound with the help of a Challenger tank. Then after, 3rd Platoon(Lieutenant Wood) would move up and clear and hold the Workshops compound with the help of a Challenger tank as well. When the two compounds were secure all vehicles rushed up to form a Line facing into the city that spread from the Tower House, to the Tool Shed, to the Workshops and to the Signal House. From here all hell broke loose between the Brits and Syrian forces, and artillery as well as air strikes would be called in to pound the enemy in the South Block as well as deeper in the city. A steady flow of British Vehicle fire destroyed the Compound walls around South Block, and they would continue to pour heavy fire into the South Block and the deeper into the city where ever there was enemy. They would also engage some enemy that was seen near the Fire House.

Explosions were going off everywhere and 1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher)would again move to the Garage compound to try to push on past the Repair shop that now only has two buildings standing out of the five connected buildings it had previously. Once again and unbelievably, the Syrians began to fire from one of the Repair buildings and they also began to fire from the rubble of one of the destroyed buildings at the Fire Station. The Fire Station and Repair Shop have been hit hard and Syrian forces still continue to defend it and it seems to be a very tough nut to crack, so once again 1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) would move back to the Tower House and East Yard compound in order to call in an air strike to completely destroy and devastate the enemy positions so they could finally proceed to clear what’s left of the Fire Station and the Repair Shop.

Phase two, the noose gets tighter and all vehicles move to give the Brits maximum fire power.

The Syrian forces at this point were now killed or pushed back out of the South Block and enemy fire calmed down a bit, but the British bombardment and bombings did not. The Train Station was hit very hard by Howitzer fire and it destroyed around 11 Train Station buildings. More Cobra fire along with Air strikes and Artillery would now constantly hit all objectives and areas around the objectives. Buildings would demolish and dust would swirl all around the city as it started to fall in ruins from all the fire power. Syrian locations would get blown up and some buildings would collapse under the stress of fire power, crushing anyone in them. In some buildings, the walls and some floors would be destroyed, leaving it with very little cover to use and in a very weak condition.

Section 2IC/Manoeuvre Support Co(Captain Witherspoon)now moved to clear out the Bank compound with the help of an Assault Pioneer section(Sergeant Moorehead).They demolished the wall and proceeded to flood into the compound, grenades were thrown into each house before they moved in to clear it. On one occasion as they threw grenades into one house and moved in, the house beside them collapsed at their feet from the grenade blasts. The artillery strikes that were earlier called in, seems to have really weakened the buildings.

It’s just a little over an hour into the operation and everything is going well at this point. There are no British casualties and the Syrians and the city are taking a tremendous beating. All enemy are now located in the city North of the highway and the British have one big line stretching from East to West completely dominating the situation outside the city.1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) remained at the Tower House and at the East Yard and what was suppose to be a light Air strike that was ordered on the Repair shop, was now about to hit. The announcement was made over the radio that the strike will hit in 30 seconds. Everyone in the Tower House and East Yard compound then took cover in the buildings and start to hide behind some cover with their ears plugged and heads down as an air strike was about to happen danger close at around 200 meters away. Even though the strike was danger close there was still walls and a compound that separated the Brits from the strike zone, then it happened. The bomb hit the target dead on completely destroying the building with a huge explosion, but it was far from being a light strike and it sent a bone shaking shockwave for all to feel in every direction. In a twisted fate of luck, one of the buildings at the East Yard that was housing 2nd Section/1st Plt(Corporal Winchester)seems to have collapsed from the shock of the blast from the air strike200 meters away and it killed 2 Brits and severely wounding 3 others, only 2 men remained in 2nd Section/1st Plt(Corporal Winchester) and one was wounded, leaving Corporal Winchester the only one who walked out without injury. Due to the severe blow, that section is now out of the fight. These were the first casualties the British forces suffered and could technically be due to friendly fire. The building seemed fine on the outside, but the previous Howitzer strike must have weakened it and the blast from the air strike seemed to be enough to make it collapse on the Brits. So the air strike proved to be a double edged sword. It destroyed an enemy building, but also a friendly one 200 meters away, and no other buildings went down, but those two.

Even with that devastating blow, 1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) now once again moves back into the Garage compound and was able to kill the few remaining enemy they spotted near the Fire Station. Only 3 buildings now stand at the Fire Station and the Repair shop out of the 9 that were previously there, and 1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) now prepares to assault the Train Station from the Fire Station. With the help of the 3 Challenger tanks, 3rd Platoon(Lieutenant Wood)and 2nd Platoon(Lieutenant Inglis) moved in and took up positions in the South Block. With the Syrians showing little resistance, all vehicles (except for about 7-9 vehicles) moved up to the highway and formed a line facing the city. The noose is now very tight around the Syrians defending and all that’s needed now is for the British infantry to engage in urban combat for the objectives. Before they move in, more air strikes and Howitzer fire will be called in on the objectives, kicking up a dust and smoke storm.

Phase three,all thats left is for Urban combat and the vehicles are lined up outside the city still maintaining maximum fire power.

Most buildings now at this stage of the game are showing real weakness. Whatever enemy show themselves get hit hard and the buildings now start to collapse very easily due to the constant rain of fire and explosions and bombs. As the fire and air support start to calm down, 1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) would then move to secure the battered and destroyed train station with the support of the Challenger tanks. There is dust and smoke all over the city and a lot of it has gathered at the Train Station. More enemy emerge and are discovered at the train station and are hit hard by the tanks creating even more dust and smoke. A couple Warrior vehicles also move up to support the foot troops. Here’s where a major mistake was done. One of the Warrior vehicles was ordered to move into a hostile high walled compound without any support from any friendly fields of fire, and as the Warrior moved solo in to get a better shot on a building in a backyard, they were hit by an RPG forcing them to bail out inside the compound. Before they could run for cover or move anywhere, they were gunned down from many directions in the hostile compound and 2 crew members laid severely wounded while one remained dead in the vehicle.

1st Platoon(Lieutenant Fletcher) has now moved into the Train Station area and moves into the only building still intact and showing no structural damage on the South Platform of the Train Station beside the Railway Line. The North Platform is completely destroyed and there is basically nothing but rubble around the Railway Line. All for the moment was quiet and it was suspected that if there are any enemy near the Train Station, that they would be dead, wounded or weakened, and scattered. 3rd Section/1st Plt(Corporal Sutherland) and 1st Section/1st Plt(Corporal Lyle) took up positions on both floors of the building they were in at the Train Station and waited for the dust and smoke to settle. When it did, all of a sudden Syrian locations and Syrian fire picked up very quickly and heavily. The Syrians were being spotted everywhere around the Train Station and once again, suddenly all hell broke loose. What happened next happened so fast and violently, and it made the situation very perplexing to understand because it all happened so fast. Bullets were being fired around by both sides and 3rd Section/1st Plt(Corporal Sutherland) and 1st Section/1st Plt(Corporal Lyle) were able to defend themselves well with the support of tanks, but even though the Syrian squads were weakened, there were many Syrian locations that popped up and the Brits could not shoot them all at once. That’s when the unthinkable happened. One Syrian soldier launched an RPG at the building 3rdSection/1st Plt(Corporal Sutherland) and 1st Section/1st Plt(Corporal Lyle) were in and it had enough force behind it to cause the whole building to collapse, crushing the 2 British Sections. A Challenger tank quickly responded with canon fire and in turn destroyed the wall along with the Syrian RPG team that shot, and also targeted and destroyed another enemy building quickly after. A Warrior also engaged and destroyed another building outside the train station and Smoke and Dust started to funnel and filled the Train Station again and everything stopped firing. An eerie silence broke out as the fighting stopped and it was later discovered what the real damage was as a result of the RPG collapsing the building. 1st Section/1st Plt(Corporal Lyle) was completely wiped out and every British soldier in that Section was dead. As for 3rd Section/1st Plt(Corporal Sutherland),3 Brits were dead and 2 were severely wounded. Only 2 men(both are Privates) out of the 14 that occupied the building were able to walk away, one was very lucky and made it out uninjured ,the other one was wounded, but still able to walk. As the smoke and dust lifted, very shortly after, another Syrian location was discovered by AK gunfire and the enemy forces managed to shoot 1 more Brit in an Assault Pioneers Section. Right after the Challenger tank identified them and shot a cannon round, annihilating anything in the area, and the Syrian forces surrendered with 13 minutes and 57 seconds left giving the British a Total victory, but a with a very, very nasty blow just before they gave up.

12 British troops were KIA by collapsing buildings and 5 were WIA in the same way making a total of 17 British troops who were crushed from weakened buildings.2 crew members were WIA and 1 KIA and a Soldier in one of the Assault Pioneers section was hit and laid KIA in the final moments.

Once again, Great mission PaperTiger, I really enjoyed this one. Good eye candy and to bad fire wasn't actually simulated in CMSF, that would have looked real good alongside the smoke dust and collapsed buildings.

I had lots of action at the end. The Syrians still could have put up a good fight with the forces they had left, but if they decided to put down their rifles to flee or surrender, that is fine by me, so be it. I learned in this mission, that in this game the Brits might not destroy buildings very quickly, but they weaken them severely, and occupying any buildings that received heavy fire from the Brits ,could very well play out as a self made deathtrap.

[Paper Tiger]

Ah, it makes a scenario designer very happy to receive such detailed feedback on his work. If only more folk were like you, soldierz, perhaps more folks would be encouraged to 'throw their hat in the ring'.

Yes, I tend to design missions that play very slowly for the first half and then become insane in the second half. I like to take my time and do a proper recon of enemy positions before I commit my forces. I also don't like to straight-jacket the player by removing his artillery and air support. Personally, I thought 'The Full Monty' was one of the best missions I made for the Brit module (although 'Edge of Darkness' was my own favourite) so I'm glad someone appreciated it.

You'll be happy to hear that this mission has at least 4 AI plans, probably 5, so the defenders will occupy different out-buildings in each plan. Also, although civilian density is set as High, that's only to maximise the Syrian's chances of staying concealed - redundant as I have since discovered that the bonus only applies to UNCONS. There are no PRESERVE locations on this map so you can blow it all up without VP (or moral) consequences.

And, yes, if fire were available in the game, I'd have used it a lot in this mission.

[souldierz]

Glad to see you like the AAR on your mission.I to would like to see how others did and proceeded in this mission, it would very interesting to see peoples approach to it, win or lose.

Those collapsing buildings was a new danger,and i never encountered them like that before.It was a good surprise that made my eyes widen a few times.At the end I must have stared at the screen blankly in disbelief for 5 minutes as i looked at the 2 sections that were basically wiped out in one blow.I never had a serious blow like that in all the hours i played in CMSF.That was the most devastating hit I ever took,as all those men died at the same time, in the same place,in the same way,from the same projectile.You would need to hit someone with a scud missile to get that result, but the one RPG shot was good enough.Seconds later after the building crushed the 2 sections, the Syrians gave up,and I was shocked at this little dirty trick that they pulled on me.Surrender? after that?, you little son's of......

I'll also give 'Edge of Darkness' a try.There's so many missions I want and have to play, and so little time.