Pocket full of pics...

[Sgt Schultz]

Please excuse the lo-rez pics. I will do better next time.

This is not a standard AAR. Just a few musings and a description of a crucial battle, with some pics. The scenario turned into a bit of a cakewalk, so a real AAR will have to wait. This post does show why I choose WEGO over RT in most respects. I trade the gameyness of uber-intel for the ability to see every single consequence... over and over again. No finer training tool. It is a different type of immersion that suits me.

I glanced at the Ami side, but once I saw it could be played by either I jumped to my beloved Heer.

The first thing I noticed was the map configuration. After a good look at my side, I went over and looked from the other side of the map. I said to myself, "Self, what we have here is a mirror map with a few variations to disguise it." I divided the map into thirds along the axis of attack from the terrain and road positions.

My right side looks like something I saw on the Military Channel. It was a gunnery range for M1 tanks. The Ami reinforcements will most likely be charging over that hill and own the entire side. I don't want to be there when they arrive.

The center I reject out of hand. That stretch of sparse woods may as well be named "Primrose Path" in the editor. Just enough concealment and cover to be tempting, but a meatgrinder if I ever saw one. With another 'toon and some initial armor I may have attempted it.

That leaves my left. Hmmm. Wind is blowing to the SE. The building line angles from NW to SE. That stream has a bank. The road holds possibilities for rapid armor response.

Left sidemon ... I choose you! Prep barrage is set for all smoke from all guns with a linear mission along the commune line. Everyone else hides.

Two minutes in, and the smoke is building nicely. An initial facing error on my part made for a fortuitous smoke mission from a single 81mm team. They dropped one on my rear left map corner and 'adjusted' to just over the crest of my initial hill. I stopped them after the first minute, but it gave my troops a wonderful edge when they skylined and started down the hill.

This shows my initial positions. Not enough for the mission at hand, but it will have to do.

Final smoke rounds are falling and it's time to get moving. Two 'toons and two PSW head for the bridge.

This next shot gives you an idea of just how safe the trip down the hill was. My men could have walked up and rung every bell in that line of houses.

Made it all that way to the bridge without a single casualty... or so I thought. One KIA. The fattest, slowest, lard-butted, monocle-polishing Captain that ever limped into battle won't be limping out of this one. The highest ranking officer on the field takes a single stray round as he rambles down to catch up to his guards. Moral of the story... lead from the front, you dead moron.

Oh well... onward.

The smoke is clearing and it's time to lay down some hurt. I realise about now that it will take NINE MINUTES to start my 105mm barrage. So that means my boys get to do the lateral dance to keep those pesky 60mm's away. The 81s will be showering the village with love soon™ though.

[Sgt Schultz]

While the clock ticks down, we find out how many licks it takes to get to the center of a 57mm ATG crew. More than two full minutes of constant fire from a platoon plus. I don't think the ATG got off more than three rounds.

The arrival of my Kitties breaks up the monotony. I need to OWN both the village and the approaches. I have a grand total of TWO tanks to do it with. I have only one order for my Panther crews .... floor it!

I am in position. The arty is a' fallin'. My boys have flushed anything facing me. Smoke 'em if ya got 'em, 'cause it's about to get nasty.

The last rounds of 105mm are either in flight or in the tubes. It's time to lean on that barrage. As my Panthers ease forward, someone pokes his nose up...

Then it happens. I detect the opportunity for greatness. It cost me a PSW, but I gained endless replays from countless angles.

It begins with my certain knowledge that there is enemy armor present. I must know where it is, and gauge its intentions. My far right PSW sneaks a look. Poof. Found 'em. Others take up where the PSW left off for keeping them in view.

The column of smoke is ... you guessed it, the PSW. Note the blue circles around the time in the next series of pics. The indicated tank has a date with destiny. The ATG that is circled is never heard from again. I have not gone back to see what killed it, but I remember worrying about it until other things took precedence.

Time To Go is 29:47. Meanwhile... on the other side of the village...

[Sgt Schultz]

TTG 29:07. 105s falling like mad. LOS breaking up all over. Hoping to see a column of smoke from a lucky top hit.

TTG 29:01. Heeheeheehee. I seeee youuu.

From the other side...

So, it's now orders time. My other Panther is to the my left as I face the village, and managing the approaches. It cannot pull back and re-position. If I lose the upcoming duel, my job will become infinitely more difficult. I choose to meet my foe head on and lean right up on the barrage line. Narrow arc set... check. Fast order in... check. Sacrifice goat to the Panzer Gods... check.

Push the red button.

Oh Em Gee, the arty is still falling. Buildings failing. Smoke and dust everywhere.

CRACK! I am staring at one Panther so hard, I forgot the other.

Buh-bye Mr Sherman. That Panther eats a few TDs on the ridgeline over the rest of the battle after pushing across the gully and becoming immobilised by a victim.

[Sgt Schultz]

Back to Main Street...

He's out there... I can feel him. I just can't see him.

A shape appears...

Hello Kitty!

----

The four Marders gave their lives in trade one for one, dueling at max range with the Ami overwatch. Both Panthers ended up immobilised just before killing their final victims. The Yank troops were done for the day before I rolled onto the objective. The broken remnants were attended to as they showed themselves.

Most friendly infantry casualties were riesling-induced, rather than the fortunes of war. Stopping a squad in plain sight of a 'zooka team can never end well. Doing it twice in three minutes gave me another half-dozen letters to write.

It was a fun time, but a human opponent is needed. The AI dropped an insane amount of arty on a set-up ridge I never occupied in the first place. I can see that this would be nigh unto impossible to win with a decent human Ami player.

Salute to the designer and BFC.

[LemoN]

Great pictures!

I have to say this was an... unusual approach.

[para]

Yeh very interesting approach..enjoyable to read too

[Narsus]

Ha! you make it look easy

[panzermartin]

Nice pics. What is your system btw?

[StoneAge]

You are right about it being diffrent against a human.

In my game as the Americans I came down the right side with my armour Not from the default left corner) would have appeared right behind your Panthers. Now that would have ruined your day. The AI just can't change to face these attacks properly, does the minute by minute well.

[MikeyD]

I wish I had your graphics card.

[JonS]

I went up hey diddle diddle, straight up the middle, and got a US Surrender. LOL indeed

[Ranger33]

Just tried this against a human, did not go so well. My infantry got a bit bogged down and then the arty rain came. That and half his tanks came up that road on the left side.

My biggest mistake was that I just hit the whole village with my 105 to make him think I was coming up the middle. He expected the same and had moved his forces over to that edge of the town Had I pasted those buildings I might have been able to rush right into town since my guys made it to the bridge area just fine.

Total loss for me although we had similar casualties, he was holding all of the objectives at the end.

[Echo]

I did much better as German, but didn't think to take a screenie of after action report.

I left all my men and armor on the ridge above village. Plastered the town with arty and mortars. My Panthers knocked out all the american armor as it came over the ridge. Hammered buildings with Panthers and SP guns. Layed covering fire with MG42s and smoke, THEN sent the infantry in, with armor behind it.

It was a route. I did lose the scout cars, but that is what they are for.

I won as American on my first go too. Stopped the German infantry rush with 105 arty, and knocked out the Panthers and SP guns from hull down positions on my side of the map. Lost 1 M10.

[Sgt Schultz]

Old GeForce 9800 GTX w/512 DDR3. Nothing special at all.

These pics are horrid stripped down photobucket JPGs. I have yet to optimise my vid card settings for CM and perform other infranview tweaks, or find a decent place to load huge files. I also don't like killing people with huge file size pics on a forum post.

I can produce desktops soon, once the mods come out after release.

--

Aye, a human would have ripped me to shreds. All that wasted Ami 105 could have kept me hopping a lot more.

Even a human could not have done much about the approach march though. That picture doesn't do the smoke screen justice.

The left HMG pair saw anything not covered in smoke.

The center PSW nosed just far enough forward to plink at anyone in the middle who poked his nose up. The Hail Mary bazooka rounds all missed. If the AI had held fire it would have sneaked up closer, and died.

I would love to play a human Ami opponent, if I could add another 'toon and maybe a single PzIV or StuG at start. Otherwise it is a sure loser. Human controlled arty alone is a 'toons worth of casualties and this scenario has points for that.

All in all it is a fun, well designed scenario. A few map tweaks could be suggested, but that is personal taste.

What was unusual about my approach? It seemed like a case of logical elimination. Take one objective and position my entire force within striking distance of the main without a single casualty(except for Cpt Klunk).

[Macisle]

tyrspawn's vid made this one look easy, but it in practice...

On my first attempt (both on Elite), I had trouble coordinating my arty and both panthers lost their optics within a few shots of first contact. I was very conservative and took only light casualites, but the clock was running out and I asked for ceasefire and got a draw.

The second time, I was much more aggressive and hit the town with a pre-ordered barrage and smoke, rushing my all my inf and armored cars straight up the center. This threw the Amis out of the facing buildings with light casualties to me and I brought my panthers in for close support, hoping to have the Marders provide long range overwatch en masse.

Well... the Marders were useless and I quickly lost three, withdrawing the last to safety. The panthers found maneuver difficult, needing to keep front towards the enemy, but dealt death to anything they could see (optics held out). Things got rough for me when Shermans pulled up opposite my buildings and started to hammer my inf (oops forgot--no fausts from inside a building!). I had to quit for work.

As things stand, it's a Mexican standoff with a Sherman holding the town area and my panther on the other side of a building. M10's are in over watch and there is another 76 behind the town on the Amis side.

I have a plan, but won't be able to play until the weekend. May do some screenies and post in this thread after the game.

This is a great scenario (kinda' wish I hadn't seen the AAR before, though.)

[PondScum]

Nice AAR, much appreciated! Love your dead commander laying in the flowers

I just laid the 105mm on a pre-set linear barrage across the front line of buildings, put 81mm smoke down in front of that, and sent all my infantry straight down the middle, accompanied by the PSWs. The PSWs, plus HMGs in the treeline, laid down suppressive fire on every likely building/ruin facing the infantry. By the time my two platoons reached the town they encountered very little opposition. My Panthers sat in overwatch plinking Shermans, getting them all except one who made it into town and had to be dug out. Traded Marders off for Hellcats, and my only other casualties were roughly a squad (most to friendly fire and that Sherman), an HMG who lost a duel to a 60mm mortar-of-doom, and my FO, one HMG, and the weapons HQ, which Mr AI decided to drop all his 105mm on.