Die Letzte Hoffnung - a campaign DAR

[TheVulture]

41 Minutes Left

Orders

Again, not much change. On the left I will push the infantry up to where the ammo bearer team just routed from (the thickness of the bocage should shield them from the MMG itself). On the right I take advantage of the open road to send the other two Pz IVs down to join 1st and 2nd platoons. Things are getting a bit congested down there as the roads converge, so I expect to hit trouble soon. Since the moves are now getting a bit more risky, I have my men assemble in cover for a fast sprint over the road under the watchful eye of a puma and some infantry squads.

[TheVulture]

Action

Lets start on the left. My squad from 3rd platoon advance to the bocage where the ammo team were. The last two men form that team are seen on the other side of the small field, and quickly killed. But it turns out that there is another ammo bearer team just on the other side of the next hedge.

I lose on man in the brief volley of fire. Interesting place to find an ammo team. Looking at the map, my best guess is that there is another MMG in that field facing out over the ploughed field covering the other approach to the village.

In the middle my panthers continue to engage the ATG with their MGs and refuse to use their main guns. Even the panther I moved so that it had a perfectly clear line of sight. Maybe there is something about the position of the gun (although my tanks did fire one or two main gun rounds at it earlier - perhaps the repositioning of the crew after taking a casualty did enough to shift the center of mass of the unit in some way). I look at the panther with the clear line of sight. Ah, there's your problem. Someone has stuck a tree trunk through your gun barrel.

On the right, my men assemble in cover. Except naturally some of them turn out not to be in cover, and just hang around in an exposed position doing the waypoint dance. It turns out to be a bad position to be in as they lose a man to enemy fire from a previously unseen unit before sprinting over the road.

The men in the house behind the crossing team return fire. That doesn't go well for them either; the incoming fire kills two more of my men. Four down this turn, something like 15 in total now. The squad make it across the road without anything worse happening, and stumble over another group of Americans hiding behind a hedge. They are much more expose to my units, and pay the penalty.

Two men killed, and the team is quickly routed. Okay, so I have found out where the enemy line is now. I get out my map and mark on the places where enemy units were initially positioned (combined with my current disposition and FLOT. At least some of the enemy units have been totally eliminated, and others have taken some casualties. My estimation is that I've seen about half a platoon, with an MMG section and two ATG guns that have been oriented to defend against an attack from this direction. If I had to guess, I'd say that the rest of the platoon with a few more heavy weapons was facing west to defend the other direction. I'd expect more than a single platoon in defence though (although the few units I've seen so far have given me enough trouble). Maybe there are some additional units providing depth to the defence.

[Field Marshal Blücher]

Much brighter now..looking good.

What's the purpose of removing unwanted units from the map in this campaign?

In every mission you get trucks, and in some you get halftracks. The player may decide that they clutter up the map too much, so if that's the case they can just send them to the rear.

[Erwin]

I have noticed that Vulture has found almost the exact same attack plans as I used when I played these scenarios. That's a a bit of a shame as it implies only one logical course of action - and that limits replayability.

Note to designers: Try and create scenarios where there are at least two equally possible attack plans.

[Field Marshal Blücher]

I have noticed that Vulture has found almost the exact same attack plans as I used when I played these scenarios. That's a a bit of a shame as it implies only one logical course of action - and that limits replayability.

Note to designers: Try and create scenarios where there are at least two equally possible attack plans.

And again, I will reply: this is not the route I took while playtesting it. There are at least three viable attack routes I can think of for this map.

[Erwin]

I stand corrected. However, I think route viability depends on one's experience of bogging and immobilization. Since I experienced 30% of my tanks going out of action every scenario even when moving SLOW on roads, that definitely encouraged me to choose what seemed the shortest route with the least cross-country travel.

[Field Marshal Blücher]

I stand corrected. However, I think route viability depends on one's experience of bogging and immobilization. Since I experienced 30% of my tanks going out of action every scenario even when moving SLOW on roads, that definitely encouraged me to choose what seemed the shortest route with the least cross-country travel.

Yeah, I can see that. Again, your bogging experience must have been incredibly annoying. I won't make that mistake again, rest assured!

[TheVulture]

40 Minutes Left

Orders

On the left flank I set the PSW to area fire its MG on the enemy machine gun position, hoping that the combination of fire and the closeness of my troops will be enough to break them, so I can bring the engineers in to advance on this flank.

On the right, having run in to a fair number of enemy infantry, my troops will hold position and the tanks and PSW on that side will come up to deal with the defenders. One Pz IV in particular will come up to area fire on a known occupied building. My armour is going to be doing most of the work for a while.

Action

The right side has reasonable success. The Pz IV moves into position and quickly deals with the immediate resistance.

But I lose two men in the firefight amongst the lower buildings as more and more enemy units reveal themselves. In total I spot three more enemy infantry teams, a platoon HQ and a company HQ. And my so-called screening units from 1st company are still at the front (although not advancing). There isn't much cover to bring the next platoon through the middle until the urgent problems are dealt with, which is what the tanks are for. They can clear out the houses in front of my forward positions, and then my main assault force can move in to those houses.

On the other side, the area fire has the desired effect as the MMG team's nerve finally breaks and they run for it, which my infantry are waiting for.

The team is eliminated, and my somewhat depleted squad are left duelling with the ammo bearer team from the MMG in the next field. This is the squad that lost 6 men to the rifle grenade fired by the MG team they just wiped out, so I guess that gives them a sense of closer.

[TheVulture]

39 Minutes Left

Orders

With the first row of bocage on the left now being cleared of defenders, the platoon from 2nd company can move up to it to relieve the current battered squad. The vehicles pull back to avoid friendly fire incidents, and some engineers come up to breach the bocage. The presence of gates in the bocage beyond that will then allow further progress to be made in this sector.

In the middle I am sick of the utter invulnerability of the ATG to everything thrown at it. A few main gun rounds have finally been fired, and an almost continuous stream of MG fire, and although the ATG crew have kept their heads down I can't see that they've taken so much as a scratch in the last 5 minutes. So my FO brings the 81mm mortars in. I can always cancel the mission if by some miracle anyone ever gets a shot on target on these guys.

Partly to push the advance, and partly to avoid wasting any more ammo on this target blessed with Achilles-esque invulnerability, I move the panthers on the road forwards.

The other reason to move the panthers is that the tanks on my right flank are taking over the advance. As mentioned last turn, I am using the tanks to clear the enemy positions so that my assault platoons, currently sitting around, can move through the front line without overcrowding. I risk a bit of crowding by moving the assault platoon up closer to the front. I expect the tanks to be getting all the attention for a while

[TheVulture]

Action

The action on the right gets rather hot, and the tank gunners are kept very busy. Between the ATG, the company HQ in the church and the scattered platoon defending this road, it is a target rich environment.

There are also moments of suicidal stupidity, as (for example) when an American infantry team demonstrate "things not to do when hiding in the attic" by firing a rifle at a buttoned up panther at point blank range. It goes badly for them.

I've now seen 8 infantry teams and a platoon HQ lurkiing around this road in to the village. I feel quite comfortable with saying that there is a full platoon on this side, and it then looks pretty likely there is a platoon defending the other approach. There will probably be a few ATGs covering that approach too, which we can come up behind.

The ATG continue to resist all attempts to hurt them. A new avenue of fire has opened up with my two Pz IVs and the puma turning up on the low road. This gets a few more HE rounds on target, again with no visible effect.

On the left flank the new platoon move on to the line, and their firepower drives the ammo bearer team in the next field running for cover. But not before one more man from the battered 3rd platoon squad is hit. I've kind of lost track, but that brings my total casualties up to around 20 now. Uncomfortably high. The engineers have just set the blast charges as the turn ends.

[TheVulture]

38-36 Minutes Left

I've condensed a few turns here because the details of house to house fighting get quite repetitive. So you're getting the executive summary instead. The main actions I attempt are, on the left, to breach the bocage with engineers so that my assault platoon on that side can deal with the second MMG and then spread out to advance amongst the buildings. On the right the various tanks in amongst the houses will continue (no doubt) to shoot ineffectually at the ATG, and some will at various points area fire houses that were known to contain enemy units that weren't completely eliminated. The two infantry platoons of 2nd company on this side will move up to occupy those houses as they become available. Everything is slowly closing in around the church at the moment.

On the left this creates orders such as this, with the platoon deploying along the cover line to the left of the church:

On the right we have the tanks in the lead with the infantry moving up behind

Notable events of the turns include the crew of the ATG gun finally being driven off. I still haven't managed to hit any more of them (or persuade any tanks to fire their main guns at it), but the accumulated MG fire and the increasing nearness of the tanks (and increasing body count amongst nearby units) finally takes its toll on their morale and they panic and run. It turns out the gun was crewed by mime artists who just pretend to hold weapons...

[TheVulture]

Another noteworthy moment is when the area fire from a panther drives the one remaining man of the team based there out the back door, to find himself staring at the back end of a Pz IV. I'd have thought that was the right end to be at (although to be fair, there is a PSW not far behind the tank, although that is busy doing area fire too at this point). But the American soldier decides to run to the front of the tank, where he is promptly spotted and dealt with.

My movement on the left makes a new American unit show up on the other side of the church - probably the back end of the defence facing outward along the other approach. This appears to the the company command squad (the HQ assistant - the company HQ itself incidentally is killed in the fighting around the church). This squad comes under fire from infantry and tanks. Doesn't everyone?

Several enemy are killed and the rest of the squad are seen running.

The American platoon HQ on my approach side was another one finally driven from its position by my AFVs, and the infantry advance uncovers them cowering near a hedge just as these turns come to an end - I don't think they are going to last very long. The defending platoon has been wiped out to a man as far as I can tell - although there might possibly be one team I haven't seen yet (or one or two routed stragglers in strange places).

At this point I think it is fair to say I control this side of the town, and now am looking to advance into the rear of the defence on the other side of the village. The red line marks the boundary between my troops and the enemy now, although I think meaningful enemy presence around the church has been destroyed. But there is probably still a platoon to get through yet.

[TheVulture]

36-32 Minutes Left

Another few turns that can be condensed in to one installment because each turn is more or less the same. 2nd company advance on the church and towards the end of the village to the left of it. As predicted, there is no resistance now on this side of the village. The platoon HQ mentioned previously is eliminated in short order. Occasionally a lone American is spotted and dealt with.

As the advance closes in on the church, it turns out that there is one man from the ATG crew who didn't run. He decides to surrender, which is perfectly understandable given the sitation facing him.

The rest of the crew, that had routed a short while before, didn't get all that far. The left flank platoon spots them trying to join up with the command squad engaged earlier, and the ATG are all gunned down; the village square offers little in the way of cover. The command squad is spotted again, and one of them is killed before the others again try to get away from the fighting. (You can see the bodies of the gun crew just in front of the house containing the highlighted command squad).

As one of the right side platoon advances around the back of the church they find an unexpected jackpot.

This is an XO team and a pair of light mortars. They don't much like being ambushed at short range (and those MP40s are lethal at this kind of distance). Within seconds six more of the enemy are dead and the rest cowering or running in blind panic. I suspect I have been quite fortunate to avoid the attentions of these mortars, especially considering the amount of time I spent stationary held up by the first few enemy contacts.

The last few minutes have basically been a bit of a turkey shoot. Some 10-15 enemy have been killed and scarcely a shot has been fired in return, whilst my forces have pushed forwards. Soon we will have moved the forward line past the church and be ready to continue in to the last row of houses.

[TheVulture]

31 Minutes Left

Orders

With the discover of the enemy mortar positions behind the church, and the fact the church is now qiute clearly empty, I move pretty much all of second company forwards. 2nd platoon, who spotted the mortars, will position themselves to cover that area and make sure they are all dealt with. 3rd platoon will move to the cover of the walls around the church, while a panther moves up with them to provide covering fire. 1st platoon will move forwards on the left to new cover on the assumption that the houses just out of LoS will be occupied.

So basically, it is just a mad rush forwards with no-one going exposing themselves to many new enemy positions. One squad is going up the church tower mostly to make sure there isn't an FO lurking up there - hopefully they won't draw too much fire...

Action

2nd platoon take up their positions overlooking the mortar area. It's not a big surprise that they find a 3rd 60mm mortar team there (since the US airborne weapons platoon has 2 MMGs (already seen) and 3 mortars (2 of which I've seen). The new mortar team is quickly disposed of, with only one man surrendering and the rest killed (including the few who tried to run who are shot down as they cross the open fields).

I am slightly irked that one of my men is hit whilst they are gunning down the mortar teams. One of the panicking soldiers got off a lucky shot.

The squad that went up the tower don't find anyone up there, but do spot another 57mm ATG facing out along the other approach. They let off a few shots just to get their attention.

The ongoing lack of enemy units in the nearby houses makes me suspect that there isn't a whole platoon out there after all; there just aren't enough buildings left now to hide a whole platoon of 9 fire teams in.

[TheVulture]

30 Minutes Left

The orders this turn are very brief - the middle platoon will move a few men in to the houses where the enemy command squad were seen a few minutes before, and the panther will move up with them. It might just get sight of the ATG, but I suspect the trees are going to block line of sight (unless I decide to put some men near them, a which point the panther will infallibly spot the gun, and detonate a few shells on the trees for friendly fire purposes).

The movement does get a response from an unexpected direction - the last team of the platoon I've been working my way through up to now. But they are exposed to the fire of an awful lot of my units, and their house takes an absolute hammering, killing two and routing the rest very quickly.

I'm beginning to suspect that the American's morale has collapsed and they are on the verge of surrender.

Advancing on the command squad house reveals the last man from that unit, and the weapons platoon HQ. They don't put up any fight and quickly surrender.

It is therefore no surprise when I hit the 'end turn' button to go straight to the results screen, as the American forces surrender.

Considering I was expecting to find a whole other platoon, that turned out to be surprisingly easy. But then, that's to be expected given that I chose to concentrate my forces in this mission - if I had spread my forces I would have had just a single company and one tank platoon for this fight.

I lost 20 men in total. At first glance this doesn't look too bad, but 19 of those came from the already hurting 1st company (and the 3rd platoon of that company is in bad shape). 2nd company meanwhile is essentially at full strength, being down just a single man.

I did lose one Puma in the fight to bogging, but thankfully all of my tanks made it through. Which means that I get to take 9 tanks in to the next battle, as opposed to the 5 I had last time around (all losses there due to bogging).

One thing I did notice is that I had four incidents of bogging where the vehicle later freed itself (plus the immobilised puma as incident number five). Every single one of these involved a vehicle entering or leaving a road - they all bogged while half onm half off the road. Maybe it is the drainage ditches at the side of the roads that are the real hazard, and sticking to the mud is in fact a much safer proposition. More testing needed.

Anyway, this was a very enjoyable battle, and one that definitely rewards patience and not just rushing your troops in to contact. Had I not been writing an AAR to slow me down, I think I'd have taken twice as many casualties...

[Mies]

Finally had a change to read this one. Thanks again! Are you planning on doing the next battle as well?

[TheVulture]

I got a few turns in to the next battle, but then life got very hectic so it is kind of on hold for the moment. I intend to get back to it at some point, but have no idea when I'll have time.