|
Balkans N. Africa Leg
The second leg of the Them Germans Were Good Campaign
Abreviations used Top = North so NSEW etc L= Level so L4 hill C> = Casulties listed as AIs then mine i.e. C> 4 for 2 always refers to men unless specificly state otherwise. F> = Formation will be named then abreviated i.e. Mainforce MF> AIT> What happened in AIs turn. Sqd = Squad if feeling lazy Ram = Raempanzer mine clear tank AC = Armoured Car JP = JPz1 The Force for Greece Total inc crews 8 shy of 900 men The only change to the core is 2 trucks got upgraded to halftracks to help with the rougher terrain. This means we have outrun any support & will be going in on our own on this one. We have been told some new tanks are available but they are being shipped to N.Africa where we will refit with them. For all engagements Co A+B have 2 pioneers in place of squads & each Co gets 2 MMg & 2 scouts Infantry 3 Comp > 40xSquads 6xMMG 6xScouts 2xSnipers 18xTrucks 10xHalftrack 3xMotorbike (so about 2/3rds mobile) Armour 2x222 4x321(8rad) 14xMkIIIe 2xRaempanzer 6xJPz 1 Arty 4 Each of 8cmMTR 10cmNbwMTR 10cmK18(=1 offboard) 15cmInf How 12 Trucks 2 Foos 223Fu Other 4xFlak36 mobAA 3x 4.7Pak ATG 3XSdkfz7 Support None The Situation Assault vs Greece 31 turns visibility sunny 59 hexes, Shotgun objectives The Map has a road running horizontaly 150m in from N & S edges & is 130 hexes wide with level 4 hills over a lot of it rissing to level 7 in the West. Its about 50% woods 50% open the woods being in 3 major groups, 2 run down the middle E>W & the third is in lower left of map running like so \ These woods are the largest & cover a good portion of the major heights. Note they are not dense woods but rather loads of clumps of trees with 50m gaps in between so LOS could be fun The North part of the heights is open with decent amounts of rough but at far North more trees & a large village, the road has veered in to about 500m by here Objectives are spread out from the village mainly along the lower slopes & foothills of the highground meaning a stealthy approach is not possible as highly visible. The most Southern 4-5 are in the trees 2 being on the Southern slope of the hill Ready for the off Top force TF> A Co with Ram 2x Mk111 & 3x AC will move down the north road in transport to small wood overlooked by L4 hill smoke dropping on Bottom Force BF> C Co minus 1 platoon with 4x trucks & 5x MkIII 3x JP are to set off down the South road hopefully to L4 hill Mid Force MF> The Rest Move out to pass either side of central woods with the Mortars in tow & will decide a course of action dependant on what they find |
Re: Balkans N. Africa Leg
2 Attachment(s)
Forgot map pics, hard to see but hills woods to East are quite varied in height.
North just shows woods will move for at start & hill behind South shows far side of hill will move for Will save map to slot 998 if remember in future & post it instead |
Incoming
Cripes that was close a bit of ducking went on there 6 batts of 75mm carried out pre bombardment. Everyone is intact I think But TF> was right on the edge & 4 sqds leapt out of there trucks & one truck is retreating has 1 damage so maybe stuck. CF> Ammo trucks were slightly back from just in case & one is not to happy. Part of this force will be detoring straigt into woods as another lot landed just in front of them. The other 3 are not dangerous & my smoke managed to drop nicely.
I was hoping to place my arty on some rough hexes but nearly all have LOS to Greek area so no, 80mmMTRs are loaded & looking for a nice spot. BF> Scout on a motorbike (bike from now on) made it to the hill crest line Ok trucks will reach next go MF> 2 AC are already in plain view of the heights TF> Truck reached woods & squad jumped out to sniper fire so a man down pops smoke, smoke dropped nicely on hill but missed straight road through woods hes 450m away. Another 250m away a line of 10 wire crosses the road on about row 58. similary placed are 2 more groups at about same row one across centre through woods & open & the other covering the other road. Arty missed except for truck, still alive but did not run so think his part is over one fired smoke for some reason & my 10cm CB fired, bonus they have the skill to do it but only caused 1 damage so he won't be gone long. With high vis if AIs having a good day his arty could cause a few problems as rushing around to dodge it while staying hidden is not going to be easy & the trucks die pretty easy. |
Trading shots & men
Nothing happened in turn 2 all arty stopped.
Next go TF> lost a man to scouts working its way through the woods then took him down with help & a couple of units are in position to check for mines on hill just in from the wire. BF> Moved onto hill in force & another sniper took a shot from the NW somewhere making me think no one is guarding the wire as no fire was recieved from MF> Some smoke coming down here but its a bit of a farce AC are about 200m from wire checking for LOS so trucks can move up & unload safely, yeah right. because of the way hills slope even in woods there is nowhere safe anything like near the wire. AIT its all quite sniper refused to fire & lost contact with my offboard, dropped some on first sniper area Turn4 So Ram moves up to find first sniper but cant see him till in same hex it fires & manages to hit its self !!! Combination of that & a grenade means MKIII has to take over & kills. Lose a man discovering squad to North of road then 222 finds another surviving attack & spots a 3rd. Also find a scout & cav scout just South of road. Getting in position is hard in these woods but manage to take out a squad, I can only get a bead on one other without moving adjacent but no more casulties. These Greek are not well equiped, 3 rifles & a grenade but point blank thats still going to hurt. BF> have less luck finding the other sniper but have located 2 scouts 1 behind wire other near the sniper, there is another there to somewhere C> 1 for 2 MF> in the centre decided to trade a few loses for time but even driving up to restricted view unloads had problems. More by luck than anything ended up C> 4 for 3. There are 2 squads in woods just in front of wire ( route through not sensible) & 2 squad & 2 scouts in the Northern middle woods. Some of these squads are better equiped, have LMGs. Tanks are not realy in position to give support as did not want them finding mines ATGs. A small group running down South side of middle woods has not run into trouble yet. About now a desire for a bit more arty hits me as not enough to make a full front push easy, certainly need some in the woods. My batts still gone walkies but it should land on a scout. AIT> Luck was with me I think C> 3 for none 2 to the sniper & found another squad arty was supposed to land where I think he is but missed, no AI arty but can see a mine on North road. Greeks should be happy with performance so far. |
Re: Balkans N. Africa Leg
nice AAR's i' i like your style.
what rout will you choose after N.Africa? |
Slow going
Curious cheers & have no idea never played it before but thinking quick stop N.Africa Eastern Front Italy D Day then back to Eastern at the end to save Berlin see what it offers me
Firstly reported wrong AIT last go casulies were none for 3, 2 to his sniper, so pretty much trading blows so far judges decision giving round 1 to the Greeks time to see if we can redeem ourselves. TF> Arty pinned some manage to force sqds North of road out of foxholes. Move up following using them as mine detectors:D & find another sniper. South of road 222 continues its charmed life & finds scout, sqd moves to engage & finds 2 cav scouts behind wire & another squad is found in the woods. Manage to dig out 2 scouts killing one then spend a full 10 mins trying to figure out how to deal with the rest. Guys in wood are on a reverse slope have possible mines & units behind wire have nice covering fields of fire. Trying to move on units this side of wire is just finding more on the other side another Cav sct, not searched well but some units risk the hill as will need to at least calm these guys down to make further progress. Pop a bit of smoke C> about 7 for 2 BF> 1 scout is routed by arty MKIII is on form & kills other then 2 tanks move to 100m of suspected sniper location, squad moves draws his fire tanks fire then MMG tank moves adjacent & relieves his missery. Find another scout & tank forces him out of hole. This was a bit easier only 2 scouts left both routed & hurting so risk loading into few trucks & heading for the woods. Ignoring road & wire area as leads to open hill. MF> Units running down South of middle woods are still having a quite day & will include with BF as in their area, its their missing platoon & 3 tanks anyway. Smoke dropped just behind the wire so this went easy dug out now 3 sqds in front of it with only 1 man surviving so gained 100m. The rest did not go so well though with no gain for the loss of a man, think area is mine free. AIT> still no arty & went well mainly due to fact my squads have LMGs C>7 for 1 |
Finaly get some ground
TF> 222 turns snipers foxhole into his grave other vehicles get shots at what they can & all enemy are pinned, squads have a bit of fun then pioneer loses 2 men trying to sneak up but the woods are cleared & Greeks are impaled on barbed wire losing a couple more men. Found a couple of mines & cav LMG plus scout has sighted St Et HMG, they look a bit nasty but sniper thinks hes hard enough pins & MMG team say what the hell & route him, squad moves on LMG turfs out & discovers more man down time to call it a day here.
MF> This goes pretty easy a squad manages to walk upto so risk a HT kill everyone for a man including another sniper, more vehicles risk a run to a narrow depresion that runs West ending in a few trees about 500m from nearest flags. Going on foot been pushing my luck with mines, one squad is working his way round South end of wire to see if anyone is there, my mortars are near here. BF> Tank took out remains of scout squad the other & found another cav sct routed, just occured to me managing to hit them better as size 2 hence I always buy dismountable variety. Now its slow going some tanks in a line following in from wire, short on transport here & no HTs. Troops running down woods tried moving to tanks to & truck took ATR hit man down but found a depresion, so on foot it is then. Sorry to keep saying but top 2 forces are just past wire & 3rd is in line with it & apart from few mines mentioned nothing so far, something could go bang any moment & I would rather it be the grunts this time. AIT> I seem slightly outgunned on the arty front ten or more mortars 65 & 75 mountain guns opened up, pretty sure these are not the 6 batts that went earlier. 4 mortars are being targeted lost a truck another running & 2 ATGs perished. Sporadic fire no results then mobelwagon on North hill is damaged as an ATG opens up. I realy must stop putting these guys in harms way |
What a balls up
TF> All originals cleared then squad on hill recieced fire from another sniper at 400m so MkIII covered it & damaged mobelwagon with smoke dis.
Now the problem ATG is 25mm & will not be alone, tanks can risk taking damage in support of troops but every other vehicle can die. Not to mention several of those mountain guns could well be on the moutain & go to direct fire mode. I can proceed a bit further down the road in cover & have a couple of units near to check as mines would make sense & think AI likes to stick on road. Otherwise I have run out of cover its wide open, even the woods slightly South are 90% visible to units on the heights as intermitent & varying heights. I probably need to work my way to North village & come down map top of mountain. The MF the depression seems fine & mine free but leads to the point of the V that forms the heights. Fire will come from everywhere so am thinking have to go North clear anything in woods & link with TF so at least I have a solid fire base. Means his arty has solid targets to though. BF again is going to have to come in on flank to at least restrict fire on. Limited arty I have must be careful not to waste smoke & forces might have to go individualy. Need speed for best use of smoke but mines could then catch me out. Having a think before continue with this turn limited arty & high vis against what I am thinking is a gun & troop defence means might well pay a high price in Greece as I actualy have to get close enough to find them & not get shelled out of existence in the process. |
Re: Balkans N. Africa Leg
The Balkans can be a mixed bag and Dug In Greeks are no walk in the park. Good Luck Commander!
Bob out:D |
Re: Balkans N. Africa Leg
Finding that out Bob the term complacency kills comes to mind as thought this will be a pushover compared to the French. As it turns out the map & amount of snipers etc has sent me another curve ball & the original plan was somewhat flawed.
As doing most while working needed a few minutes uninterupted to look at, wanted a plan that is not slow & boring but does not just sacrifice men. Will add turn numbers |
T7 The plan
The plan, all tanks have SD switched off so can use manualy as could run short of smoke.
TF will head for village BF will clear ATR then head on about 400m in from road behind a hill but in woods MF will split sending most units including RAM pioneers transport to BF. The rest will enter woods to get in position to support TF. Progress will be slower not that its actualy been fast to date but should be able to role up quicker towards the end. Will not mention mines anymore but troops will be leading the push vehicles only risking unexplored terrain if risk is justified as need the firepower. This would have been a lot easier if had upgraded fragile JPz1s or had a sensible plan:D BF> Troops move forward a couple now with tanks found 1 ATG a MMG killed it for no loss. Near the road surviving cav sct routed & down to 2 men & my scout found another squad, infantry support is down to JPz1s not ideal but short on transport so tanks doing short range ferrying to woods. CF> Most are heading South FOO is staying to see if can set up in woods so is heading North with a reinforced platoon. Discover a squad in woods shots traded C> 1 each then a squad moving to assist loses 2 men to a infantry gun on the mountain. A scout is going to see if he can work his way West & see anything AIT > I replot arty smoke screen up North & to hit the woods down South, cav scout there opens up & dies then the sky falls. 6 Batts & a dozen or more assorted guns let fly mainly on top bottom forces, about 8 men + 2 trucks become a memory. AI is having same trouble as me putting them somewhere out of sight is not that easy half a dozen mortars & mountain guns appear on the map, most I have LOS to but attacking not practical or safe due to range & other unseen guns. Direct fire use is a very real possibility. |
T8 Said I wouldn't but
Sorry but TF seems to be sitting beside a minefield, a few units inc sniper are hunting his counterpart rest are checking the ground or spreading out behind hill to try & avoid arty. 1 Pioneer is in position to start clearing, his mate & RAM are clearing further back & any faster path to the front runs through last turns arty strikes
MF> manage to take out squad without further loss but progress is hard trying to hide from 2 mountain guns I can see & inf gun that I cant. At least he didnt manage to kill anyone this turn. BF> Looking for ATR squad moves adj to tank & finds its sitting on mines:doh: squads moving to check status of other tanks. Giving up finding other ATR & moving South away from mines when I can. Part of MF moving towards them run into a squad & get him running, force in South woods now moving forward slowly & have killed squad AIT> Was not looking forward to this as several units pined due to last barage but loses minor from arty, still not found TF sniper & he took out 3 men, there are mines everywhere here even guys looking for sniper have found them. Tank sitting on mine in middle others seem OK but mines are right in front of them, close call. BF mortar starts direct firing at MKIII with riders. My 10cm CB fired they will be sticking to that task. Its like I am in the desert already finding places to hide is not proving easy. |
T9 & 10 Mare
Still looking for sniper & mines while avoiding arty up top.
Guys moving towards TF ran have run into a couple of squads combat in progress. Scout who headed down depression had a squad with him for support they are heading back after spotting a bunker & squad, found a scout on the return trip. Units transfering South have run into 4 squads 2 by a 231 which ran into the first & moved to find another, LOS are terrible the best places to attack them from are by guestimates in full LOS of the mountain & the guns on it. No walk in the park this keep triping over the buggers 150m further back a St Et HMG opens up from an angle was not expecting, heck. Taking big risks to try & get to anything but manage to dig a couple out & casulties are about 2/1 ratio but roling the dice big style. Trying to stay out of sight of the mountain but closed top AFVs are risking moving next to pinned units as they only have grenades, an assualt on the reckless ACs is going to work sometime. BF> Easier here due to being sheilded by hill but lost 2 men when squad moved next to 2 units, surprisingly one of them firer was panicked by my squad, they are out of holes but trying to get to a 3rd found unit lost 2 men walking into mines. Going to try following paths routers are taking. Further in scout finds ATR & a squad no loses occur here. AIT> My smoke covers the North quite nicely & South woods is hit hard by arty but now think cant reach hit areas due to mines, AI arty stops apart from a few mortars. Kill a scout for no loss then St Et HMG opens up on forces that killed scout 2 men & Sdkfz7 down T10 TF> Several mines cleared moving cautiously along by road, RAM is on the way but I hope thats it as have had the odd mine for last 500m & now through the line. AC risks offroad behind wire along with a scout as cannot close distance on sniper elsewhere. Hit him with 2 155s but hes probably still out there. Force moving towards TF sneak up on a squad, takes big cahoonas to go after men running as on the top of this little rise now, I don't think they can progress much further till TF is ready to go. TF looks like it has shrunk quite a bit. MF> Getting bogged down making way to bottom force MkIII fires at HMG then squad risks moving up gets adjacent then 2 men down as another St Et HMG opens up, smokes & kills the first. 2 231s risk everything to get near him killing 2 straglers on the way. They are wide open to fire from mountain but that HMG has to go as has a good field of fire. BF> Fire exchanged with ATR for no effect squads in wood move to follow runners discover 2 more units MKIII gives an assist then it all goes a bit Pete Tong. Truck moving over safe area hits mine & its passengers die, that was a full squad. 2nd MkIII moves to help first mine immoble & other one is sitting on. Manage to route all enemy but I need those pioneers have units on mines all over the place here. Thinking I should pull back till they arrive as prime spot for arty drop. Pulling back without entering view from mountains is not simple though, also thinking its time for my arty to move half move out & all ammo clear the area. AIT> Just mortars no cas but a FOO & my HQ recieving fire, a few routers rally several shots traded but only loses are squad kills ATR for a man down, 231s do not recieve fire. 1/3rd of time has gone & only a not to healthy looking TF seems near to getting to objectives. A concentrated breakthrough till past mines might have been more sensible. |
T11+12 Good news at last
Seem to be through the mines in a few places,
TF> a couple of sqauds tried running down road vehicles moving to position MF> tank that was near ATRs hex is clear. Troops moving to that area seem to have bypassed & on the other side. BF> scout cleared his hex its in LOS of mortars at least but troops will be okay to pass unnoticed. Think I have found a depresion through which I can move to reinforce TF Found a squad & dug out then killed St Et HMG, lost 3 men doing so 2 of them belong to a depleted scout. The other StE HMG was killed by a squad under fire from an inf gun & a few runners were taken down. As seem to have a path through mines below centre axis (ATR area) we shall push on here, flags are quite close & if it draws to much fire will drop smoke. TF> found a squad routed, then sniper dual broke out with mine victorious, smokes going so clearing area AIT> Nothing realy happened few runners down same arty. T12 Running for high ground TF> Before the last of the smoke clears RAM floors it along the road & several vehicles move to mountains L4 crest & unload, around the area the sniper was there are now 1 scout & 3 squads, 1 is running for a man down, they are being engaged on 2 sides from front & trees by the road. Tanks here have turned SDischrgers back on as I think they might recieve fire when the lasts wisps of cover burn off. Force moving to MMG gets in a fight with ATR takes out a man sniper moves to finish but finds bunker so back were he started, AAwagon finnishes him Several units have transfered along depresion & are waiting for a squad to clear mines before can assist with squads mentioned above. Just South of those squads mountain sticks out at L4 for about 500m forming a shield. The bunkers have no AT weapons but need front to kill so till have a better idea of whats out there leaving, smoke is like golddust at the moment. Right about now my MF+ BF commanders must be getting hacked off with me, tell them to move for support or retreat then order them to push on in the next breath. Don't know if this happens to other commanders but quite often find I have a unit or 2 that run around in circles for a few turns. More often than not they end up back pretty much where they started, not realy the way to do things. Anyway they are now pushing again. MF> It looks like A line of mines ran from the wire all the way South & I have been running just behind it, pioneers stop to punch another hole as mortars might need it later. Lead elements of force heading through the woods reach South end of it. 2 squads scout & 3 MkIIIs that were in ATR fight pass through hole in mines. This area will not be to exposed till reach East end of woods which is not far but there are 4 flags around here. Discover 2 squads, ones a wimp a jumps out of his hole virtualy straight away. BF> Squad in immobile tank hex cleared those mines PDQ so now 2 paths through, scout is having a great time killing runners but pops smoke when finds a HMG, units passing mines to back him up, a JPz1 is still on top of some though. Doom & gloom feeling has lifted a bit might be able to outrun arty plots. AIT> chalk one up to the AI he is after my leaders. Most of my arty is in transit but droped 4 tubes on a gun on mountain that could be a threat & he abandoned ship. AI dropped most of its arty & majority was to far back but still got 2 trucks a couple of pioneers & one of my HQ staff keeled over, I have a bike near by that was on its way to shift him as was a truck. MF + BF just traded a few shots but TF was a diffrent ball game. ATG opened up at 222 range 1 Km or so luckily missed several shots at 24%, know location within 100m. AAgun on mountain outcrop mentioned spotted as fires at 231 from 500m, damaged. My A Co Leader has ended up in the front line. I do not think he was the best target but sniper zeroed him, want this guys head when I find him 500m & he killed 4 men Co retreated. Everybody else decided he was fair game & lost another 2 men. Think I got 2 forget as more concerned with his fate. Just tried & he rallied to pinned status so he can at least drop smoke. Wonder if snipers actualy target officers, good if they do |
T13 Taking stock
TF> 3 squads enter South end of village, its empty & moving into buildings next go should have them near that ATG, scout & MMG crawl out near village but cant see anything. Combination of rough & high grass means LOS is very patchy round here. Ram decides to take on AAgun for no effect but its out of AP ammo now.
MMG to South opens up at group of 3 enemy & takes a shed load of fire losing 2 men, time for a rethink theres quite a bit out there. I need arty back on line & should be able to get that ATG next go plus think path through mines will be cleared so just going to try to get some armour near village & in position to launch an attack next go. Have a little probe both sides loses about equal but ends up as follows There are 4 units in original area all told, 1has vacated. On level 4 or there abouts furthest East is St Et HMG then AAGun on outcrop. Where outcrop joins the mountain squad & sniper, suspect more ATG is near enough where expected. I made a few minor moves on original lot then squad by ACo leader drew sniper fire, Co leader covered them both, AAwagons fired at there counterpart only pinning then squad discovered HMG so HT went to pick him up & was missed by ATG which was spotted by my HQ who is now near enough leading the advance & doing his scout thing. Bit reckless & think an ATR went off some where, Greeks have good interlocking fields of fire it seems. Most of force that was in woods is now waiting behind mines to move out or on route, a squad & MMG remain to see if they can see anything & the remains of the scout is trying to find a place to hide. I am a little worried may have guessed LOS wrong when last of the smoke vanishes. MF> Whoops just realised my 223Fu is leading the charge, looks like 222 still he kills a man & they leave foxhole 2 Tanks in middle kill a man each in other visible squads, then I move a squad to treeline & find another 231s engage & kill 3 men. All these guys are pinned so HTs join in 1 routed. Before fire any other vehicles squad in open moves to see if anyone else is around, find a squad about 300m back, others may well be there but ground falls away behind him. Yet another sniper fairly close takes a life tank fires at & routes then 1 moves adj ready to kill next turn. Squads move out & are on form lose a couple of men & something else is out there but these guys are devastating at 150m, the enemy is melting even the sniper sucumbs. Lot of rough here so not managed to get adjacent but squads near woods near enough wiped out, one is in a tricky position & my halftrack decides to take a path that runs by him. Oh heck short moves in tricky terrain please, hey he lives & Greek squad can't be happy, rally HT fires & routes now we can mech assault thank you FOO is moving slowly to a crest line that should have very good LOS if its safe, hes on his jack BF> Mines are cleared from JPz1, MkIII fires on St Et HMG & scout in hex pinns & routes so squad tries his luck moving into tree beside them, take down. Scout cant find anymore runners so risk a bit of trail blazing Sdkfz7 taking over & running down same path, risky but arty did hit & hidden from other firers. About 500m away is the first of his mortars & I think there are about 6 guns total a bit further on. Anything I can do to reduce arty helps, lead guy back on foot as think LOS opens up from here, tanks are 200m back AIT> Well Greeks had another good go those SE HMG are dangerous TF> one took out 2 men & I lost another, smoke clearing has let another AA Gun join in the fun its right back on L7 & did no damage. MF> St E HMG opened up at 600m killed 3 & reduced a motorbike. A gun of some type pretty close opened up as well. C> 3for7 more if arty got kills but don't think it did. Mortars taking fire to now & his arty is dictating my tactics at the moment, keep moving if you want to live. My 80mtrs are still not quite close enough to be of any use except in the centre. |
T14 Meet the Spartan Brigade
TF> Where to start, squad in village enters building & loses 2 men in fight with ATG, HQ under fire routes ATG killing 2, MMG opens up at HMG another 2 down getting a patern here.
Pioneer & JPz1 work over central group C>1for2 but think out of shots. Scout moves in, no they wern't digs squad out under a hail of fire losing a man but sighting several more units. Ram & AA go to work on AAgun hoping distant one will join in, no luck but mobelwagon kills 4 Then back to central group 2 AC move up to assist then a MKIII comes under fire from an AAgun that has for some reason ignored AC. It has a pen of 3 so MKIIIs share its fire or ACs will die, everything that can has a go at it managing to kill 3 crew We have lost a few on the way to but in control of centre now 2 remaining units are running &. several vehicles are 150m from a clump of Greeks. Half a dozen squads & MMG are at level 6 by the village. Ht moves to ATG & kills another couple of its crew. MMG & squad that remained in woods stuck there head out, survival is now there only goal MF> Slight worry there apears to be another set of mines here, from position think they run South & I am at he end of it, about to find out. They have all rallied vehicles fire at 3 sqds near woods & one near HMG then only squad in woods that can do anything without attracting the attention of HMG has a go. All routed bar one so units in open check mines seems alright so 2 tanks move up, can't see gun but recieve no fire so shoot at HMG for no effect, one pops smoke between HMG & woods. Sqd moves on last squad & loses 2 men when a new squad opens up allowing adjacent pinned squad to shoot to & get the kills. A bit of a firefight breaks out & things escalate, scout jumps in remains of bike & recieves fire from another squad in woods, so drives for cover. Others try moving on from woods side & discover a scout with a squad. Then to top it off inf gun fires at 231, MMG returns favour & routes. We won that exchange but these are a hardy lot 4 still in holes 3 in ready status. Not quite true 2 more are still in holes & 2 eventualy forced to run but these 4 squads total 5 men, they are fighting to the bitter end expecting to hear cries of Banzai echoing round the hills any minute. The HMG took 4 vehicles unloading on & did not blink, they are more than making up for the guy that wimped out earlier only person that folded was the gun crew. BF> Lead squad crawls forward to the crack of a rifle, man down get a couple of other units on him but thats about it ends up 2 for1. Units further back are going backwards as arty is falling heavily so split into 2 distinct groups till it calms. Found remains of a squad while doing so. AIT> arty missed & I CB fired but its freaking me out I am in the wrong theatre since when was Greece in the pacific. The only units that did not recover were an AAgun & SE HMG but they are ready to fight now. Even the ATG with halftrack & squad in its hex recovered, give me the French anyday. TF> There is another ATG somewhere near the first & ATR behind squad cluster, result damaged Ht & 231 dead 222 & mobelwagon men traded losses about equal. MF> ATG 700m or so & another mountain gun close I think can't see either, 231 & HT damaged. Was winning here then a squad recovered & shot up my squad before torching the HT. About now I utter an expletive just what are these guys on. BF> Somewhere on hill at over 600m StE HMG opened up & 5 men dropped, thats 5 did I say we were going to N. Africa afterwards the way its going this could become our resting ground. Shortening the number of turns & going without any support on an assault is extracting a heavy price, not to mention the amount of arty & ferocity Greeks are fighting with. Seriously its like fighting the Japs getting them to run is hard & when they do they come back at you all guns blazing. |
T15 The Black Adder
Where is Baldrick with one of his cunning plans, can't be any worse than my exploits so far, I need to smoke off areas so I can at least control what I am fighting, MF + BF will get out of woods as fast as possible to take objectives & have Greeks come to me, these guys are just to resiliant to take on up close.
TF> Several vehicles open up Ram kills sniper then squad kills ATG in his hex & moves onto rise to find other ATG & takes fire from a few units including a bunker 100m away, his HT mounts a rescue spots several units including another bunker & ATR that takes a pot shot. The ram which seems to have developed a bit of a hero complex moves up recieving fire from both ATR, continues & other ATR is spotted ATG fires & misses cant see but know exactly where it is. Squad moves for through village straight into 2 bunkers the force in the village is basicaly stuck that ATG is out of reach they nead armour support. The only infantry that can smoke it out is my HQ but its to big a risk move so MKIII takes on ATR to no effect but moves up the hill dropping smoke cover. MkIII moves onto outcrop as some dust covers to take on AA gun & scout, kills & routes them finding a baby tank with MG only CV33 which JPz1 kills. Sqd moves to kill SE HMG finds another scout, 231 & 222 pin him before sliding behind smoke & sqd digs out HMG then fires at another squad. Next squad moves up takes out HMG & think defenders are out of shots so 2 HTs move up, turns out its not the case of course another scout is found & kills a man or 2 but carry on & manage to get another couple involved. Made reasonable ground up the hill & in last phase wipe out 2 squads scout ATR AA gun & finaly manage to scare the bejebas out of most of the others, will they bounce back again. Final moves some units in village jumpin trucks to move to tanks smoke unseen scouts fire so more smoke dropped to protect trucks & MkIII turns on discharger & climbs outcrop sitting there to see if any fire comes his way as should be at range I hope. MF> Exchange of fire manages to kill most visible units then move ATG takes a shot & still cant see him but I am abandoning woods & moving mainly along edge. Tanks hiding behind anything & troops moving up to try & see ATG to NW next go. A tank & AC move behind some rough on otherside of clearing 100m fro SE HMG & finaly kill 1 man, there is a squad here to & mountain gun is somewhere close. Bit further SW are 2 flags & at least a squad has fired from there, I have control of 3 flags here BF> Kill squad & ATR & still trail blazing following footsteps of lead unit, 400m from flags but terrain climbs & becomes open 200m ahead. Have to try & find that HMG & expect other units. Tanks might have to risk guns & become more proactive as troops are hurting putting a bit of smoke here but most arty is focused on TF AIT> First the good news fighting spirit went a bit & most of those that tried bit the dust, found mountain gun near MF. Now the bad BF is not going anywhere fast the earth did move with the amount of arty that just slamed the location trying to find a unit with less than 3 men down is getting hard & the transport is down to half here now, just could not move quick enough. |
T16 Getting a foothold
TF> Trying to figure out what to take on first is still proving well hard here both braincells are going into overload mode the AAgun on the top of the mountain is a big headache.
2 AC & 2 tanks take a safeish route to bunkers tanks taking fire from ATR, furthest North bunker is destroyed so troops can at least move a bit, the other bunker both tanks manage to repeatedly miss despite hit ratio climbing into high 80s, 3rd tries damn things got a force field or something manage to hit it once with a total of 12 shots. HQ decides its time to lead from the front so sends a squad to take on the enemy units covering the area, he then moves out under fire & kills a mortar rallies & finds ATG, calls for support & a MMG loses 3 men to that damned bunker but kills 3 ATG crew, HQ gives the all clear as he takes it down showing the men just what is expected of them. JPz1 Move on remaining troops at base of outcrop under fire from AAgun but with no MGs they have no effect so a squad moves onto the outcrop & discovers a sniper & scout 200m away. He takes other fire to but is determined to not let the side down as he is in rough terrain, RAM tries to pin these new troops then squad takes them on cutting one scout section in half for no loss. A pioneer braves fire from the bunker & takes out the ATR Decide to use reserve 231 & try the bunker again, finaly it succumbs so motorcycle heads for AAgun on the heights but StE HMG opens up ouch I have a grudging respect for these things. Empty HT moves on sniper & kills then a scout takes a risk as several others have failed to find the HMG, finds it & 2 squads pops smoke & still manages to dig a scout out. No one is failing infront of there commander now. It might not sound much but we now control to hex row 23 50m from the edge of the outcrop & its been a hard slog to get here probably helped by the plight of my BF. There are a couple of bunkers near the village & maybe men but we are on the mountain. There are about 10 units visible within 500m of the lead & a bit further on tell tale signs of arty guns MF> MKIII & AC take out HMG & squad helps them with the mountain gun they are now adj to flags & just west discover a platoon dug in there is a SE HMG to but scout cant find it. Forces exchange fire for little effect then a couple of squads head towards ATG find 2 more squads & scout at treeline so pioneers ride HTs to & take down after tank uses discharger. ATG fires don't think its the same one & CoB leader fires twice at 450m killing, just earned his stripes as was under fire & spots a squad there to. The FOO has made it to ridge line & can see cavalry moving to reinforce this position. A good turn as killed a few runners to C> about 35 for 4 & made progress, must get my HQ into the mix more often his boys are fired up. Southern part of this force is about 2/3Km from remains of BF but its mainly woods. HMG that fired may be the same one BF> Only one foot slogger can move does his best to clear the area was on the edge, vehicles cant pick up anyone so survivours risk moving SW as its parallel to flags but towards map edge, they may end up pretty much on there own. AIT> Happy bunny here of course they mainly rallied & a new AAgun opened up on the mountain taking a 222 & HT as well as damaging a JPz1, so much for MkIII drawing fire & I did slightly better in troop exchange. But the bottom force got a reprieve most arty stopped I think because other forces are right on top of flags, Thought I was going to say goodbye to a platoon or more here & the TF losses are acceptable considering the gains they made. When I have all my arty on line its enough, just. The trouble is as trying to be semi realistic half of it has to keep moving with the advance. Reports may slow down from tommorow map building. |
T17 HQ sees the whites of their eyes
TF> Near the village 231 with a squad in tow go bunker hunting, 1 down.
HQ decides to carry on & is taking on a mortar & bunker crew MKIII that was supposed to draw gun fire moves to edge of outcrop it does & ATR to, routes sqd & fires at a CV tank thing missing. Need to take this down so troops can move up in safety & 3 units in wood can come back into play, they are in a bad state. 4 armoured units move on all miss but its dead next go for sure. 231 & HT route unit allowing two MKIIIs to close range with AAGuns, they destroy one. Scout near StE HMG finnishes the job on a scout & finds another one, his Ht kills 3 men in StE HMG routed. Several vehicles have a go at remaining units in the area but still 4 can return fire, several cav units can be seen in the distance but seem to be heading for MF. MMG opens up wondered over this as already suffered last turn & after a few exchanges of shot they kill him:doh:, squads turn to extract vengance, no kills but they seem to have run out of shots so last tank moves up & routes furthest squad. Now apart from new units only the tank & one unit can return fire moving out. Scout pushes his luck again & somehow hes still intact but decides to seek refuge in a HT. He recieved a lot of fire & can see 2 more sqds another HMG & a sniper 100m away. squads kill 3 units furthist up slope & route the sniper. My sniper makes a none to stealthy aproach to line up HMG & decides to pull back as find more units, thats as far as we are going & my vehicles are fairly exposed, not a great deal of gain but was expecting heavy resistance here & coming over a hill with enemy on the other side is not easy, have 3 flags here & just constantly applying pressure. BF> Manage to convince a few men to move & the few that retreated to safety are now moving again but they have a fair bit of heavy terrain to cross & catch up. Moving tanks without support is never a good idea & with woods around is asking for trouble so inevitably JPz1 loses a track to assault. A squad & 2 tanks kill the squad before it finnishes the job & find a bunker. Tanks that make it to open fair better for the moment & kill one mortar engaging a second. All tanks are switching dischargers back on as distances closed. MF> Facing 2 distinct groups here SE & NE, I am a bit torn on what to do BF could do with some infantry, TF is engaging in wide open terrain & could do with help from the other end. If guns open up at range they might not see them. See how it plays out. 1 squad who stayed in woods has been making careful progress to flag there, hes undetected but spots a scout on it & a squad in front. The best aproach is from behind as can engage at range. In my impatience move him to a second hex to go round, 3 men down as several units open up & he runs. There has to be a lesson in there trouble is I never learn it:( Pioneer risks moving into trees near NE squad for a look, maybe that was the only ATG MKIII moves up & takes on squad, it seems clear so 2 other squads move up, 200m further is the top of the hill & TF will be visible from here. Tank & AC open up on SE group, risk moving a hex & find HMG, 223Fu routes last unit, a few cautious moves but nothing so HT runs up unloads & digs out 2 squads & HMG, another does the same to remaining squad. Take 2 flags here & find a bunker. Remaining units decide to move behind units in wood & take last flag here, discover the hard way that there was indeed another ATG here as 231 brews up. Top marks to the AI on its placement & I am gutted thats a few ACs I have lost in last few turns & the crews went with them, my top vehicle crews have just been smoked. I have just noticed due to problems keeping arty hidden & rough terrain my mortars have spread a bit & over half are short on ammo, mare going to have to move some to get ammo trucks near. Just selected my FOO & hes got 24 units in LOS that does not sound to healthy. AIT> A lot happened arty is starting to come in, not to bad & my batts definetly got the hang of CB firing. TF> HQ gets his 3rd kill & a Greek squad pops smoke as it runs nicely blocking some fire, then it routed into a HTs hex & tank shot at it immob my HT.:doh: Thought I got a bit ambitious with a couple of vehicle moves ATG hits 2 halftracks for a kill & damage result, cavalry have u turned & heading for TF now. MF> Heaviest arty here & a bit late but units in woods have left foxholes. AA gun started firing at 223Fu was worrying about wrong one, luckily it came under a barrage of fire killing 4 men. Need to look after this guy a bit more as now has 9 kills so must be on his way to being good. BF> Some sort of gun is firing at the tanks in open & a poor suicidal Greek in CV is moving from road to attack my armour with a Mg, good luck mate hope you have freinds. Loads of other stuff to but they do not seem to be recovering so well & only new gun spotted was the dying AAgun |
T18 The gloves are off
TF>HQ is now upto 5 kills on his stroll through the arty park.
There are at least 2 ATGs out there that I cant find so having to be cautious. There are 5 bunkers facing the woods, JPz1 going to take out found more mines. Have killed all original units & engaging half a dozen more slowly rolling forward, once those guns are found the German war machine might well find top gear, in the open with my higher exp LMGs & armour even there foxholes offer no respite. MF> MkIII Routes AAGun 223Fu does the take down then move north into woods & towards ATG, still cant find it but think squads 2 hexes away, smoked it out of play & took last flag before heavy fighting in the woods, turns out there were quite a few in there, were being the operative word as there numbers have dwindled, 2 running & a ready squad remain he may take out one of my squads if goes the right way. Ht lost mobility & a few men down but a big hit. there is at least another squad, can't see but know where. On the other side of the clearing in the woods also Bunker survives but units moving to retake flags have been heavily repulsed, battle is on in some force but now they are out of foxholes they are no match for my vets. A MkIII has moved into position to intercept CVs running over the hill, another is close but more worried with assisting with taking down the ATG when its located. A pioneer is on the reverse slope just in case they make it that far. This force seems to have become very aggressive, no pussy footing seek & destroy is enabled. BF> MkIII kisses CV goodbye then as its a bit higher here another moves into position to fire on squad back in woods pinning him so squad moves in & sends him packing. JPz1 takes out the bunker. Now I have to be careful there is a gun out there somewhere & tanks wont see it need troops up here. Smoke is going where I think HMG is so thats a problem to. Tanks can risk the gun its about 1K away I think JPz1s can't so one will try to cover route from road incase more CVs move in, squad in Sdkfz7 goes with him & dismounts. He will try working his way up for a look at this gun. Should have plotted smoke to cover that gun but I am back in arty problems again going to have to stop CB. MkIIIs took out a mortar & moved North taking a flag, I think they are out of sight of the gun & a squad was found & routed with the aid of my lead squad. They also found a HMG but pulled back, its in a difficult palce & is not the one I am after. Suddenly the MF is only 1/2 a Km away but the healthy squads in this force that are running for a lift in what little transport remains are a full Km back AIT> As it looks like they are in trouble & FOOs have good LOS carrying on with all arty, 2 mortars that are out are droping smoke in BF gun area others mainly target area TF guns are in. His arty is not what it was CB fire & vanishing onboard guns has seen to that. To be honest its a bit of a bloodbath out there they rallied well but in most places are hitting an interlocking wall of fire. I do wish they would stop routing towards my vehicles MkIII managed to immobilise another one, its alright when they run at the end because tanks don't fire but mid turn they are becoming a bit over zealous. A 65 inf & mountain gun have joined in the fun & games on the mountain. The AC & tank furthest South in MF by the bunker had a few moments trying to stop themselves being overrun, they might have to pull out. The ATG is not quite where I thought it was & took a HT down & the VCs changed direction to try & cover it. Still about 70% have recovered to fighting status, with the French it was the tanks that were unshakeable, with the Greeks I am glad they have not got any. |
T19 Its hammer time
TF> Not top gear more like a steamroller rolling slowly forward crushing everything in its path.
The village is under our control & the troops are engaging first mainly then tanks roll out & engage the guns, followed by mobelwagons going for the ones at longer range. AC & transport then expose themselves & shoot up enemy troops before my squads move out & send them to oblivion. Then it happens the attack has been so devastating overdrive is engaged & any form of transport is used to propel the force forward. 2 snipers are the only people causing any real problems & for very few casulties we have made huge advances. Some smoke was used to stop taking fire mainly from snipers but one is visible, we have now moved to near the V in the mountain & some vehicles are vulnerable but all guns bar 1 were engaged. ATGs are gone, the infantry gun is Ok & both mountain guns crews are at half strength. Another 4 bunkers have been found but they are facing the wrong way & a JPz1 has started systematic destruction of the 10 or so now visible. About half a dozen new infantry units have been detected to & expect a few losses in AIs turn but a decisive move. MF> MkIIIs kill 3 CVs & a pioneer & squad take on the ATG & kill it then the Northern woods is given a good working over. Only 2 men remain here But sure more are coming through it & the FOO there is begining to wonder if staying is sensible. MkIIIs are on the hill & will be engaging the gun TF has not taken on next go, infantry support will be limited as this is the only place putting up any real resistance & another sniper is lurking somewhere. The tank & AC moved slightly back from the bunker & a squad & 223Fu with a total disregard for safety are trying to support them, they face at least a platoon in close proximity. A couple of other squads are chasing down runners. BF> 2 squads make it to the high ground & the other forward squad heads for the road. The tanks move on HMG as he had arty dropped on him so is pinned & find the HMG they have been looking for & several bunkers. Transport is now getting some grunts back near the action. A bunker & the remains of a HMG are all thats visible here & a total of 7 flags are still under enemy control AIT> Another mortar runs out of ammo but resupply truck is closing & its starting to be a unneeded luxury but my arty either got a sniper or helped him hide. Greek arty got a truck but the offboard batts are firing miles back now. Desperate brave or stupid feel the later they managed to kill a man & take out 231s gun but lost 20 odd men in the process. Did get a lucky break in MF when an AA gun opened up at halftrack for no damage, I had expected worse. |
T20 Greeks are still at it
Well the big exitment is down by the BF especialy in the now small gap between it & the MF by the Bunker.
As well as the troops on the move it appears there are still quite a few dug in units. Yet more snipers HMGs & a few squads have made there presence felt, several men fell to this unexpected show of force. Armour in the area will hopefuly be able to help next turn but at present is pretty preoccupied with just staying alive, that bunker might well contain Gold Bullion or National Treasures the way they are supporting it. The rest of the MF did not manage to mount an attack on the gun as the sniper has help & is proving an elusive SOB, finaly find him but he took a few good men with him. At the Bullion Bunker & more so the BF Panzer crews are having a tense time holding back the surge. 6 squads ended there turn next to tanks & all rallied to pin status exept 1 who is ready to go, its getting a bit tense & shortage of transport is proving problematic. On that note with mainly truck transport exploiting crumbling forces becomes a slower or risky proposition as it only takes one shot quite often to cut the ride short. MF> 3 squads & some armour are remaining in woods to protect flag there & can now give meagre support to the FOO if things get a bit heated. TF> continues its onslaught & my snipers have taken over the driving seat taking the fight out of anyone they can see, progress is not quite as fast or devastating as last time but now only 2 guns remain & both have casulties, 2 vehicles are vulnerable if they retaliate. Enemy troops are mainly formed up along what one can only call a line of bunkers, 5 now remain & my troops have closed to within 100m from behind. The woods here will soon ring to the sound of axes as hasty caskets are prepared for the dead & I wonder if undertakers give group rates, they are going to be busy. AIT> Another of my mortars calls for ammo but resupply has arrived, Greeks get a good hit with a battery but not sure where. Another gun comes into play against the TF but his heart does not seem in it, all gun fire misses while tanks reign shells on them & the devastation continues. Just checked FOO that had 24 units in sight now has 7 & we have discovered quite a few units since then, its becoming a massacre. Unless somebody says otherwise going to give more sweeping reports & just cover the exiting bits in detail. Brains overloading trying to remember what happened blow by blow & type at same time so think went a bit rubbish back there. Sticking to a format like reporting casulties every turn does not help the creative process either, I ain't no writer. If it all goes a bit naff again & it will say I will not take offence, honest.:up: |
T21 The mound
So much for the middle force assisting TF there is a lot of activity on this little hill, briefly spare 2 tanks & a pioneer to dispatch the closest gun. Only a HT MKIII scout & 2 squads one retreating are left to greet them, another MKIII is on the way & any moves on the AAgun here have vanished.
A lot of tanks are running out of HE now making things harder. BF incuding bunker area we have not made any ground but did not pull back & are trading shots at not much better than 1:1 as discover even more units coming my way, might have bitten off more than I can chew here. Found a gun down near the road, its not the original firer though. TF> That arty fell here bunker busting JPz1 is now stationary, managed to kill last sniper & more guns have joined in. Concentrated on these & now only one is left & its routed with a crew of 3 left. The row of bunkers takes a short break & continues South found 5 more so far. Perhaps predictably progress slowed a bit as Level5 woods just SW of mountain V cover 3 flags & now taking unseen fire from there. HQ is at it again & is moving along L7 with a support squad for a looksee AIT> BF & MF had a bit of a heated exchange not helped by 3 CVs showing up & distracting the tanks though got 2 of them. I think we won around the Bullion Bunker elsewhere was more of a mixed bag, a squad & tank at the front of BF are going to need some sort of rescue mission they have units admitedly pinned in 4 adjacent hexes Setting the AIs forces to 20% more than mine certainly makes for a tough time they just seem to keep appearing this is after all an assault & theres more than 2 companies of men in the bunkers alone not to mention the arty & guns. Tis the price I pay for their lack of armour. I have just realised the majority of the infantry are elite explaining there resolve Evzoni, Rally 13 Exp 10 I can recomend there fighting pedigree. Lack of a LMG is a problem in open terrain though the sniper offsets this & those HMGs provide good support. Close terrain these guys come into their own. |
T22 Its Nearly Miller Time
Firstly I am a Kronenbourgh man myself just refering to the sentiment.
Well the rescue mission was not so hard they were borderline routed so a bit of fire sent them packing, bullion bunker finaly died & think there is just the one squad in this area now. BF continues its painfully slow progress to flag & 3 mortars in the area but squad is quite far down the road & pops smoke to let a JPz1 catch him up. 2 MMG are in position to shoot at this gun & arty should hit it this go. The battle for the mound seems to have reached a stalemate both sides reinforcing, the 2 MkIIIs & squad that dispatched the gun moved to help & found Greek reinforcements. Another 2 squads are making best speed to get there in HTs, luckily a Greek scout placed smoke as it withdrew cutting off an area covered by the AA gun, be nice to say I planned it :) More a case of what can I fire at without getting a major volley in return. TF> Halftrack kills last ATG & HQ does a swivel, 2 squads sighted he stays to assist with spotting then heads off with his escort to intercept any routing units. A couple of units move & we can see 6 squads there so 2 MkIIIs move up & fire then use dischargers, everyone that can catch a ride heads for the smoke, most were out of range. Smoke was placed to cover 3 squads but before trucks move bring everything I can on other 3 & send them scurrying. This force is getting close to support range for the mound now. AIT> They finaly seem to be folding, did not put up much of a fight that time. |
T23 Shaken not stirred
The BF & MF had there best turn for a while, the fight on the mound just collapsed most remaining units pulling back off it. This has freed up tanks to go & pay the AAgun a visit next go.
The MMGs opened up on the gun by the road & to my surprise totaly killed it, squad & JPz1 were ready to make a move on. Forces are generaly getting in good positions to find the other gun though a temporary halt has occured in the middle of this advance, caused by two persistent squads & a bunker. Further North made a hard move supported by 2 MkIIIs & found some runners attacked 2 mortars killing one then ran into yet another bunker. The 3 squads that form the North part of MF & are protecting flags report contact & send him running. TF> You have probably guesed, more bunkers further back near the mound & 3 squads behind smoke turns out to be 6 & a sniper. Bit of an effort but everyone is running exept the sniper. In fact they are running so quick HQ has had to jump in a truck to try & cut off the exit. Could not go as far as he would have liked as its unknown territory. I am having to task the pioneers with assisting with bunkers still have over a dozen left & the two I attacked this turn took 5 point blank hits without effect. AIT> There arty is strugling to keep pace again so totaly innefective. AI lost about 9 men for none 3 in combat rest as ran. One of the casulties of combat was the sniper taken out by a MkIII. Tanks fired another 6 or more rounds at bunkers up close & personnal like for naff all. T24 Swatting flys Well despite bunkers front armour being 6/2 14 shots later 5 with overpenetration of 4 or 5 as high hit chance they are unscathed b@$$%#£s. Pioneer had better luck attacked 3 damaging 2 & killing the third More shots vs bunkers JPz1 gets an instant kill & out of about 6 MkIII hits get a damage & also seperate kill 2 occupants, thats better & a good thing to I am running into more. Otherwise just finding mortars mainly. AIT> Arty is targeting my MMGs that took out the gun, only one Greek fired & he lost 3 men for the privelage. |
T25 Mopping Up
1 Attachment(s)
It seems just got some tough bunkers taking down normaly now, think only onboard gun now is 1 mortar, MMGs clear the battery fire alright.
Just chasing now really & HQ just bagged his 8th kill. Took last flag but Greeks took one back down South in its turn, have a few units nearby. Still finding bunkers T26 End game It was a lone squad that took the flag, mine now, found the ATG have been looking for down South (BF) but MKIII lost its gun as it turns out there were three of them. All succumbed in the closing stages of this battle. Game ended Decisive Victory 8062 > 849 Points 269>1089 men Just over a 1/4 of my 900 men perished. Got most of the Greeks less than half a dozen units floating around & a few bunkers I had not got round to. Had a quick look at Greek forces turns out he had 8 batteries not 6 & 10 or so inf companies plus all those bunkers & HMGs Did get a bit touch & go in places & if arty barrage on bottom force had continued for a couple of turns think I would have lost close to 2 platoons of grunts. St Et HMG caused a few nasty moments to. Overall caught me with my pants down as was not expecting such a tough fight. T1 Welcome toTobruk The game offered me a special battle but time for one of those later I wan't to go to N.Africa before the Eastern Offensive kicks off No rest for the wicked we are assaulting again :banghead this time vs British forces at Tobruk, wondering if might see some air this time. We have shiny new vehicles in dessert camo armed with the 5cm gun & our Pak group has recieved these as replacements to. Force Changes 3x Pak 4.7 upgraded to Pak 5 Armour is now 3x 231(8rad) 3x MkIIf 20x MkIIIh 2x Ram Will add more variety later when Stugs etc improve a bit My view MkIVs are pretty duff there main role at this time is as infantry killers suppresors & MKIIs do it better, suffer from ammo problems though. Also gives me 2 groups of 10 MkIIIs Everything else as it was Support 2 sIGIbs see if we can get them direct fireing vs the grunts 1 17cm Battery 2 Ammo dumps 2 Bf 110 D-2 to play with 1 Spotter Plane Regenerated map 3 times but kept giving me the high ground & a few buildings etc so decided to mod a quick one & give them something to defend. We are in N. Africa so our first objective is a water supply & a nice place to stay in relative comfort. The place is fortified so lets see what the AI makes of it Flags A group of 2 in both Likely AA Pos 8 around Unknown Facility & Bunker Entrance one in each of 4 buildings 4 In the Guest House Rest at West point of Low Wall, it has a break in it for a gate here Visibility came out at 51 so left it. The plan, have a bit of fun but going to have to wait a bit as now looked may have snookerd myself a bit on the approach with the soft sand. Just because might intrest someone all my core arty now calls in at 1.2 HQ rally is 85 sweet, troops ave exp mid 90s some might make 100 soon. Armour high 80s but did not do well with replacements low to mid 60s Map attached as I remembered |
T1-T A few beers to many
First the plan then a rundown of the first leg, not a lot happened for a while but here are my notes on the initial phases, should liven up shortly.
On the beer in a fit of insanity let the girfriend take my credit card on a trip to Knightsbridge. Still trying to figure out how she persuaded me it was a sensible idea:doh::sick: women Shows how long its been since I played thought Matildas would still be a problem should have looked before upgraded my tanks. Turns out I have the advantage the 2 pounder is not a lot of cop except vs the light armour. The 25 pounder is a diffrent matter though I will need to treat those with respect. I have to consider upgrading my inf howitzers for the real deal bought ammo dumps for but they just don't have the range. Only One spot where they can reach all likely targets & set up on a rough hex so the ammo dumps on it. This time we will try a major break through rather than dealing with mines all over the shop. Pre bombardment will drop smoke & most of the force will move on North Location AA pos position then they can follow the train tracks. Company B (inc 2 Pioneers) & a couple of mortars will move on foot spread out on the other AA location. They have 4 trucks that can be used safely for first 500m or so with them. Also my ATGs & there transport is here along with 3 MkIIIs & a FOO. These are Main & Secondary forces MF SF respectivly & MF is not moving as one complete lump at start, no need to give arty more targets than needed they will come forward once mines found theoretically. HQ has been told no more heroics but you never know. As I thought there are a few areas with only a 1 hex gap in the soft sand so either exploit them or nice & slow. T1 2 4.5inch & a 25pdr fired then my smoke fell nicely followed by the roar of 60 odd engines all hitting the gas hard in unison, we leap forward & theres no dust trail, whoops think I bodged the map a bit was not expecting that. Easier overall probably but now wishing had dropped more smoke we are going to end the turn with a lot of units visible to anyone in the NE just where a line of wire is. Only visible additional fortifications are 2 lines of wire just over 500m long on row 90 at each edge of the map. Those SIGs just came in handy 13 smoke each & managed to direct fire & give half reasonable cover. Fast forward to the end of turn 4 the smokes nearly gone & the MF is ready to climb the rise to the North AA location. The enemy is deadly silent so far including his arty so it is possible no one is there. I have dropped arty on it for 2 turns. The SF has moved out but is keeping its vehicles back & hidden. 2 trucks took a shortcut through the soft sand & are stuck. Am replotting most arty for a new smoke screen I will be fully visible ffom here on in so my only options to unload unseen is this or to drop everyone here & continue on foot. Mines could cause an upset to this plan but I am a beliver in most cases of pushing hard at the start with acceptable loses to give time for problems later & in this heat that water is tempting & my boys don't wan't to walk Turn5+6 Holding Pattern Looks like nobodys home I made the map full width to allow the AI to defend as it liked but most flags are set further back than normal so I may not meet much resistance till later on. Smoke fell badly so mainly waiting before move out & spotter finaly finds our first Brits a platoon of Valentine IIs on the hill West of the bunker entrance so things will finaly get going. 2 Scouts in bikes decide to move out as speed means they can take a path that makes best use of the smoke, all goes well no mines till he reaches the smoke . 2men lost as 2Pdr in the orchard opens up. Smoke fell around it but not well enough & a few units move to the top edge of the orchard pop smoke & unload. Turn7 Visibility through the orchard is about 250m so the squads that moved up last turn took on the 2 Pdr killing it, a bit more smoke came down so units moved out towards it. I am keeping the MkIIs & AC back for the moment & the spotter overflew the other AA location spotting 1 squad. Lost contact with my plane, had placed it so could adjust onto any guns found but it went & attacked a Vali. It did see a 2Pdr though & no sign of any AAA yet. Two MkIIIs have been moving slowly in plain view to see if drew any reaction, arty just fell behind them a bit close to my HQ who has ended up shadowing them :) Turn8 Take 2 flags at AA location things are still pretty quiet arty is starting to fall in MF area & slightly worried for my AA but want them near just in case. The 2 tanks out in the open are just starting to move round the bottom of the orchard. They have taken fire from 2Pdr which is acceptable at this range. A couple of the tree hexes North of the orchard do provide cover Rams & a few loaded Ht are hiding there. Most transport is moving to open the range as the smoke is fading & there passengers are poised to move out of it next turn. Forgot to plot spotter. Turn9 Seems I was wrong you can't hide there a2Pdr in the SE corner of the orchard took out a HT before losing 2 men & a couple more shots were fired at exposed tank, still cant see it. Looks like I may have been lucky MMG finds a mine near AA location, think they probably run North from there supporting wire as vehicles passed just South of. The arty immobilised one of my AA last turn so they have fallen back & vehicles realy have no where to go now so position is not to clever. Turn10 Just realised not making much headway & forgot to think about soft sand for planning further routes. Lots of fire exchanged again between tanks for no effect but another HT got caught up in it, vehicles that were supposedly hiding moved last go & arty fell where they had been. SF> is about a Km from trenches but was fired on by Vickers HMG 500m further forward, MMG killed three men & 3 MkIIIs have now broken cover. Spotter went for another fly by but never returned multiple Boffors AA about 1Km East of South AA position saw to that. Things should start warming up soon me thinks Thats all folks |
T11-16 in a bit of a pickle
Quiet game so far so summary of my path to the current balls up.
SF> Alls fine here they are poised to move to level 2 of Pos AA Local, 3 MkIIIs supporting broke cover a while back & are nearly with them. ATGs loaded up & are on the way to as are the mortars that have just set out. They have lost 2-3 men can see a routed squad & have killed 2 Vickers HMG & 2 ATR. MF> Strange one this all was fine while we stuck to the plan but a minor deviation has lead to total disaster, this was about as long as any plan has ever lasted as it turns out I was amazingly lucky. Half the force hides while rest progressed behind the smoke between the North Pos AA Loc & the olive groves (orchard). As the smoke clears tanks exchanged ineffectual shots before managing to enter little valley & move behind the ridge line for cover. bit of thought needed here due to soft sand but we move onto the hill & take out 2 Vals for 2 men, a good trade. Then we move on finally finding the other 2Pdr, it dies along with the other 2 Vals & the area is clear. A MkII was damaged in the exchange & artys getting heavier finally accounting for a few men stationary 231 destroyed HT & a few trucks all told. This part of the force is to head SE round & over the hill. The rest of the MF now breaks cover to go NE round the hill following the train track, it takes fire from A25Pdr at range which misses & those SIGs direct fire some smoke to cover. This force is currently working its way down the railway & level1 part of the hill with troops out front looking for that gun. Mine clearers are here as we have not hit any yet. Now it all goes tits up & the blame rests squarely on the shoulders of my HQ, The tanks he was shadowing raced on while he plodded forward to find himself facing a squad 200m away. He is not detected so sits & waits turning his range down. This squad is a few 100m South of the olive grove but towards the West end of it, well back from my force. On reflection HQ should have backtracked but things are easy with hindsight my force after all is just coming round the hill. Find a squad on the corner of the hill & take him out then we deviate from the plan deciding to head back to our lines. I expect that squad to have company & Mr HQ should spot any firers so we move out. Turns out there are 6 of them so far one off by himself to the South another mid way & 4 in a group by my HQ, one with an ATR. Attacking dug in units at range is never a sensible option you will lose & we do indeed lose a few men getting into position but HTs are ready to mount an offensive that should get half of them. Well that was the idea but we are sitting in a minefield & going nowhere, the mineclearers are going north & worst of all I had avoided this driving into it on the way back to my lines. I can't now abort as have to see what my vehicles are sitting on, I take heavy loses to his fire & a few to troops that discover vehicles are on mines. Moving into mine hexes while under fire does not seem to be a good tactic, someone will become vertically challenged & launch himself skyward, chucking smoke grenades to cover, the first real exchange & boy did we mess up. |
T17
SF> Moves onto L2 seems to be 3 squads here & we dig out the closest one, the 2 squads furthest North find a FOO kill 1 man.
My thoughts are they could work over to MF problem as a sniper chimed in over there to. As this force has not hit any mines yet I am begining to think they may follow the railway so in view of this the MF is bugging out under cover of smoke & heading up the hill. Rams are on the way to help clear mines under vehicles but the area is bound to be hit with arty so not staying to fight on his terms, HQ pulled back & will keep watch. A sniper & MMG along with stuck tanks are systematicaly working over the Brits & have nearly killed one squad, as out of range will do 1 at a time & planes are coming in to as no AA in the area Turns out have to be a bit careful as tanks on hill are now recieving fire from a 2Pdr around the furthest NW trench near the oasis. This is a fine mess I have got in trying to pick a path across the hill out of LOS of guns without getting stuck. If I can make it to the copse of trees on the hill troops could unload & get close enough to find the gun, could be a big ask though. As always more arty would help as could lay smoke. |
T18-19 Defying Logic
MF> Planes attack & 2 nearest squads to HQ are routed with LOS to others obscured so he has moved to SMG range & is blazing away, not sure this is entirely sensible but as he caused the problem only seems fair that he sorts it out.
Looks like arty has done its job as a crew is spotted near 25Pdr local so vehicles break cover & we roll forward. Troops have made it on to the highest part of the hill but forces on its South face are not doing so well. There are at least 2 ATGs one is seen but a HT is damaged, somehow it is still mobile with 4D from two hits. Other HTs & AC are pinned down & MKIIIs are reversing up the slope to keep front facing ATGs. A bit further & we are clear of the soft sand for a while at least, need to bring arty up as its working at max range. SF> We lose a man in exchange for the FOO & now have 4 squads & 2 tanks on the hill facing 5 Brits, 2 more squads can give covering fire but several are trying to move on undetected as I feel that those AA guns could soon join the party. One does firing at MKIII which is fine by me, 2 squads are now out of there holes C>5 for 1. Another AAgun is seen & I have no idea what the AI is trying to achieve with its arty especially considering lots of my force must be vissible. |
T20
Tanks are free of mines & HQ moves ever forward the 4 squads nearest him are all running & one is dead.
My sniper tried hiding & is now moving slowly towards the enemy sniper in the hopes that when it opens up he will be close enough to see it, a poor squad is none to happy at being volunteered as its target. Main force now has split objectives so N+S MFS>Found 2 ATGs the second being close enough to be a threat to nearest MkIII so infantry poped smoke, I want a word with whoever refited my tanks the guns are great & the extra armour helps but some tea leaf has had it away with my dischargers :mad: Despite the ATGs not having HE they still got a man. MFN> Heading down rail unmolested & units on the hill are now 500m from the sunken bunker entrance when bike swerves to no avail as a bunker with 25Pdr & Vickers takes a dislike to him. Any further aproach at level 2 or higher is now out & of course the sand means risking bog or going for a scenic drive, Pioneers are reasonably near if I can figure out a way to get them there. SF> Squads moving round the side towards the AA discover & engage a new squad while MMGs & ATG reduce one AAGuns crew to3 Squads going round the other side find a 3in Mtr & all squads on the hill are now running. We lost 2 men moving onto flag due to mines & a couple to fire but should control the hill next go. AIT> Arty is getting better but still mainly firing at no mans land & another AA gun opened up, unfortunatly my tank was distracted by an ATR & gave it a side shot resulting in early retirement |
T21-22 Minefield
Despite my best intentions HQ is charging on there are now 2 of 6 sqauds left, the hunt for the sniper is on with 2 squads further SE looking for with the sniper
SF> They are getting hammered by arty now & lost people to it. My ATGs are never going to improve they seem to act as a magnet in every game for it. No direct fire losses only 1 squad remains & 2 guns are hurting badly. The 3rd gun & mortar are out for the count. There are more mortars not far away but it will be a while before we get there as the area is littered with mines, 300m deep so far pioneers are on overtime, heading SE as seem less dense that way MFN> Smoke has just come down in front of the bunker & a second 25Pdr was found & destroyed without loss. Tanks & a few grunts are now heading SE down tracks in the little valley towards the unknown facilities. I have been expecting contact but so far nothing though I think we are being observed from the way arty fell last turn, the rest are making there way round the bunker. MFS> Take out both ATGs & seems clear, as time is marching on they will jump in HT they can either move towards the oasis or come over the hill forming a pincer move on the facilities. Either way unloading unobserved is not a realistic option & the hope was that the SF would be the pincer for the oasis attack but they are going to be late so a decissive move on the facilities may be my best option. Work is busy at last so reports will probably slow down as I have to eat, more to the point have a shopping spree to pay for so it could be beans on toast for a while. What price vanity? A #@%£#$% lot I can tell you. __________________________________ There are more atoms in a glass of water than there are glasses of water in all the worlds oceans 99.999....% Of an atom consists of nothing, its totally empty so the Universe only just exists. If you could remove this space the entire human race would fit in a grapefruit. If you could harness this power the atom bomb would look like a matchstick The probability of things like our eco system & the building blocks for life being so efficient without being designed is so small that they must have been. Therefore if you are a religious man science is probably the best proof of a God or at least a grand design. Welcome to the test tube you could be in it. |
T23-25
HQ group have destroyed all 6 original squads & found another one, closing in on the sniper but have a nasty feeling my HQ has ended up as the nearest guy.
Pretty sure my sniper walked straight through mines without noticing, my squad has lost a couple of men & arty is falling around MMG now. SF> A scout & platoon followed runners navigating through the minefield & are now in position to go for the mortars one of which direct fired at extreme range killing a truck with its first shot, thought it was safe enough. Passage SE turned out to be free of mines so good call & now moving towards oasis. All resistance has been dealt with easily arty being the only problem. Mortars have moved up to a depression with oasis in range, delayed due to arty. MF> Pioneer is in position to assault bunkers, there are 3 of them. South force came over the hill & lost a 231 to 3 BoforsAA just SW of most SW building, Some tanks are continuing East but the rest are moving towards the oasis & smoke is scheduled to drop next go. They are a bit over 500m from the wall but no fire has been forthcoming. North group have also been taking fire from the bofors but tanks have dealt with, 1 abandoned others dead. Most units are still in the valley but near paved part now & engaging units in nearest building & trenches along the back. A few units climbed level 1 area North of buildings finding 2 squads in these trenches, one is running. Casulties light so far but then so is the resistance, sort of expected more slow game this. |
T26 Rescue mission
Mines here are causing problems again but have a good idea on snipers position, decide to move MMG as arty is after him & has furthest distance but the sniper kills 4 men, should have risked the arty he still might get hit. It has given away his location though so my sniper takes him out, the other squad is routed & HQ moves towards but is seen by a new squad, smoke as think there are more & HQ is way out in front with just a tank near him, tank & HQ are close to rise to L1 now.
SF> Keeps moving forward but begining to wonder if mortars are safe arty round here is not good & now its falling dangerously close to mortars, could easily have seen trucks drive into the dip. One enemy mortar is down & heading for the next as through the mines now, there are a lot of them. MFS> An A9 I think slightly East of the guesthouse takes down a HT, luckily it had just unloaded & its about time something fired. MFN> There are about 10 tanks here so they were slowly rolling forward along the pavement area taking out the enemy when one finds a mine, Ram moves to the front risking ATRs & squads head forward, they find a squad tucked behind the first building just behind the mines. Getting a LOS to him is very hard as the burning wreck blocks most views, but I want to save the crew. Only one hex on this side of mines has a shot so risk HTs running around South building. 2 Make it unload & engage him. In AIs turn its enough he only gets one shot at the crew & it survives but my HTs were lucky they to are by mines. Lost a few men here but Brits only have 2 happy squads now as the armour is just throwing out huge amounts of firepower. These bunkers are going to need a concerted effort redirected several squads to help. Pioneer hit 3 times with sprengladung but failed to damage it. Killed 1 of 12 men so he is getting ready with the flame to route & then mass assault the thing, could take a while. T27 HQ lose a man as 2 more squads are found, one jumps straight out of his hole to sniper fire & HQ digs the other one out but if anything we are outgunned here, the other tank & squad are stuck behind mines. RAM is on the way reckon its 2 turns away AA units to but slowly as they have to hide from Mortars. SF> is just running forward use of trucks is to dangerous & other forces heading for the oasis have entered trees near zigzag trench, HT are trying to hide or free themselves up to head for the rest of the MF to help with transfer of forces. MF> Pioneer got a bunker but used 3 flame shots in the process, a MkIII managed to make it to another hard due to sand & trenches & fired APCR I think at point blank. Damaged it was not realy expecting that. By the buildings mines have virtualy stopped progress a pioneer is helping the Ram, squads have entered the Southern buildings. Another squad is seen hiding behind a building & we manage to kill a few more men but finding locations with sight to targets is a problem. Bit of a stalemate at present armour cannot get in position to engage, scout tries to make a move through building on a squad but loses 2 men. 4 of my 6 scouts are now hurt & so just trying to survive & a motorbike is sitting by crew to wisk it away when it rallies. Vehicles on level1 are waiting for squads to overtake & check for mines. If anything sums this battle up its mines, mines & more bloody mines, getting fed up of the things. AIT> Arty has stopped & squad behind first building leaves his hole. HQ survives without further loss as only attacked by one squad the other near him moved on the MkIII trying to assault but paid heavily & is now running. Risking air coming in here but its very close to my tank & could turn nasty. Already had one close call here when lost contact with a few turns back & could not adjust run. Luckily found new squad that turn & it attacked that but living dangerously. AI has not been doing a very good job with its arty this game for some reason its all over the shop & never seems to fire for more than 2 turns before relocating. |
T28-29
Every time I think we are getting there another one shows up, counting foxholes thats 11squads & a sniper to date. Mainly they have been dealt with by a mixed bag of MkIII, sniper, MMG & HQ with slight support at times.
The force moving on the oasis has taken out the mortar & I have given up trying to guess where everyone is even a couple of trucks are running flat out across the dessert in an atempt to wind this up. So much for mad dogs & Englishmen in the midday sun, I think the guest house offers other services than room & board & they are partaking. Thought the MkIIIs would struggle with the bunkers but slices through the last two, still cleaing mines so infantry move up first through buildings then across the pavement. 2 more squads are found & we lose 3 men to them & another to the mines but there is a path so tanks move up to give support. The Brits are now heavilly outnumbered again a recieve a hail of fire ending in 3 tatered squads & one intact one. Due to the restricted access half of this force is loading up & moving to support the oasis as we only have 3 flags to go here & 2 of them I control the area AIT> HQ group planes killed 2 HQ & sniper got one each only 1 squad is up for a fight this go. Elsewhere the Brits show there hand & are on the move. To the North of the MF the crew I had just evacuated to a supposedly safe spot can see a MkVIc heading for him, typical. At the oasis a rag tag bunch of 3 MkVIc 2 A9s & an A13 are running along the back of the NE section of wall, magic move 50m they are in my sights then the smoke I plotted comes down, minor cursing. T29 Tank & MMG open up to no effect & sniper cannot get a shot as remaining squads are on level 1 so he moves to crest line. HQ takes the plunge & finds another squad decide its best not to fire. AA open up despite range to pin as much as possible. Luckily with few available targets some mortars are plotted here. SF is moving as fast as it can & has just reached the trees at the North end of the oasis, tanks are not risking running on due to mines & ambush possibility. Infantry move forwared SW of oasis & see another A9 & A13, I have 4 MkIIIs in the area & a MK II, the MkII is distant at just over a KM but opens up on A13 causing it to fire its discharger. The other tanks split & go either side of the smoke 1 on each side getting targets & damaging an A13 at about 500m MF> We take quite a few casulties some to yet more mines & caused by the fact infantry is having to move onto level1 unsupported finding another squad in the process. All enemy are cleared though exept 3 squads on level1, the Ram & pioneer are trying to clear a path to the furthest flag. A MkII & Mk III are going after the VIc while the rest break for the oasis. AIT> HQ group MMG loses another man he has to back out now as nearly dead but a path has finaly been cleared through the mines. Arty means all routed except one. See 2 more MkVIcs up North & a major armour exchange occurs at the oasis with both sides having a tank recieve damage. |
T30
HQ tank fires & routes so sniper & HQ move up looks like its coming to a close 2 are running & 2 left in holes but one is nearly dead, Ram heads for oasis having cleared the mines.
The thin armour of the Brit tanks seals there fate an A9 & A13 are quickly dispatched the other 2 have moved behind the smoke & require a slight risk. The tank furthest away moves into view & draws some fire then 2 near ones come round the smoke, all fire at them misses & they destroy & damage one before a 231 runs up to it & delivers the kill shot. A13 remains behind its discharger but if it moves 2 tanks will have a shot & one of them is stationary MkII decides to fire on another VIc forcing it to use its discharger. Infantry finaly recieve fire from a squad at the gate but my battery is about to hit there. MF> 3 tanks that have LOS open up & squad with ATR uses his shots, sniper gets in position & routes the other before 3 squads on hill move forward. only 2 squads survive now & ones running. Think we are done here only one flag to take & the pioneer will do that but will leave a few units incase reinforcements turn up, the charge for the oasis is on. Still chasing MkVIcs AIT> All tanks miss but North ones closed the range nicely, no new units discovered but arty drops on my units, 1 squad only has 2 men left. |
End game
T31
Sniper has a field day before HQ takes over, Brits have 5men left MF> The sole squad still fighting takes a great deal of persuading to run, due to this the other squad may escape off map. MkII kills a VIc & MkIII damages one before smoke is poped. At the oasis the A13 is damaged then destroyed before the remaining tanks are destroyed in quick order. MkII & HT open up on squad we are arriving in force now from the west but no fire is triggered. Forces are also arriving from the North & squads arleady there are starting to work down the wall. A scout taking up position to watch for reinforcements finds the HQ & 2 HT attack it reducing to 3 men. AIT> MkII gets another VIc & his arty kills my squad T32 HQ group finnish up he has 13 kills now, HT & scout kill Brit HQ, MkII kills last VIc, pioneer takes last flag just oasis ones left, squad escapes. another 4 squads appear at the oasis but its a done deal severly outnumbered. Exept for mines of course there are more, 2 men down. half a dozen tanks taking up position in case reinforcements arrive. Turns out its a inf company but quicly wiped out, I lose 2 men to fire & 2 more to mines, it ends on turn 37. Decisive victory Men 89>631 Score 6178>449 Missed a few bunkers but AI must have spent loads on mines, fairly boring game as not enough enemy & armour was totaly outclassed. Partly my fault did full width as meant hills were in enemy zone but this meant he was to spread out & mines made transit slow |
New battle
Eastern Front is not available yet so Western Dessert meeting first since the Poles
Not worth giving you the map a few small steep rough hills 3 in centre 250 x 500m that could be used as cover, also 250m round hill behind North Flags Otherwise dead flat with the odd strip of high grass but not wide enough to be a vision problem unless looking along it. Flags equaly spaced 3 groups running N>S placed slightly closer to enemy than me but central group is furthest forward & near to central hill group. Its very sunny vis 88 Force only change both platoons with pioneers swaped one squad for pioneer LMG to give them covering fire. Support 2x 110s along for the ride Lets hope the AI does not just field cruiser tanks or it will be a turkey shoot. Going to Russia next battle but may well come back here for a bit once Allies equipment improves. Simple plan close & destroy, to this end all arty is forming a smoke screen at the end of turn 1 just east of central hills. it will run from North flags to roughly halfway between central & South flags. Arty transport has been borrowed & all vehicles will head flat out for the smoke screen, they will drop pasengers then head for cover behind hills or retreat to hide behind the anticipated dust cloud they should kick up. HQ & 223Fu are to the South & have a clear view of those flags for arty direction, hope is if 223 does not move it won't be seen. The smallest force is going after South flags, C Company - 1 platoon 3 MkIIIs & the ATGs The Rest are spread out across the other 2 objectives, the idea role these up hopefully getting behind while C Comp perform a holding action. 231s, MkIIs & Rams will hide in dust till troops sighted when they will assist in encirclement & destruction of leaving MkIIIs free to kill vehicles. My AA poses a problem as its vulnerable & the dust clouds cause real headaches but initial thoughts they are going to move forward for 2 turns then hold position. If possible my 2 planes will hold off till I am in a position to exploit breakout when they will start looking for arty & AA in the rear area. Try to knock out in 20 turns Turn1 Most of the smoke comes down ok a couple will need a second mission but most of my smoke was used battery dumped the lot & most just have a few rounds remaining Before it comes down we see 4 groups of vehicles from N>S Some A10s further back than other groups 4 Daimler Dingos heading for N flags, small dust trail Several Marm HerIII & A10 heading for C flags 15 Rolls Royce AC & 5 A10s heading towards S hill in central group. Movement of 150m or more produces dust & no arty fire was recieved I realise the flaw in my plan at the start of turn 2, these Brits might be coming at me with nothing more than MGs & ATRs but they are coming fast, to fast infact troops were going to unload at smoke screen but if they do that tanks will be buried in a huge cloud of dust. Transport sorts into more distinct groups so there are dust free areas, scouts in 3 motorbikes run up to locations for a look. A Co moves behind mainly North of the central hills B Co some risk moving to smoke line as only Dingos are heading that way C Co drops off at the bottom of central hills & will work SE towards flags, ATGs drop here close to the smoke. As initial contact will be with AC MkIIs & 231 get a shift on, by turn 3 231s take up position in gaps between the hills, 2 cover the South gap as I think thats the larger force. The other covers the North sets range to 15 gets the first kill as Marm Her goes down. Turn 4 & tanks are still moving forward most flat out but a couple have gone to combat speed, the MkIIs move just North of central hill & I decide to risk leaving the 3 Flaks in the area there because they are stationary & about 600m back from the smoke. Transport is now pulling back, I will cover initial probe in AIs turn at the start of turn 5 but arty 5 troops of 25Pdr plus one onboard plus about 5 3inMTRs. |
T5
Appologies for any errors might miss one, CS9s have dischargers RR do not.
The main push was on CF by 5 Marm Her heading just north of central hills. 2 were damaged by the 231 before bursting through the smoke 300m from MkIIs, These & a platoon (5) of MkIIIs further back opened up but as moving flat out they missed. the Flakwagens though damaged one & killed another. As I need the MkIIIs to move up the MkIIs engage killing 3, takes 2 hits to kill on average. The flakwagen with AP remaining kills the other then most tanks move forward, won't mention again unless muck it up but dust trails mean a bit of thought is needed. Several troops are now on hills & can see Morris CS9s coming in on the same path a bit over 1/2k away. There could be closer stuff behind the smoke, a MKIII & Ram move to support the North facing 231. Through the South gap a MkIII kills a RR AC then its platoon & the other Ram move to support the 231s here. Wanted to keep a couple stationary but dust prevents. 231s turn down there range & this force needs to make quick work of the RR AC then move to support the SF as slightly South of the RR but well back A10s & Val IIs are visible. NF> Two Dingos came through the smoke the first being killed by a MkIII. it tries its luck again but miss & Dingo pops smoke, it is suppresed so squad moves up & assaults, strike 2. All but one of the MkIIIs in this platoon move up as i know 2 more dingos are inbound & troops fan slightly. We are placed slightly South of North flags & my FOO is the furtest North unit trying to keep some distance between himself & the Dingos, At a bit over a Km several MkVIcs can be seen to the NE & A10s are trailing half a klic back. SF> Troops are moving on foot SE to flags & to increase range from the force bearing down on the bottom of the hill. ATGs are in place behind smoke & will most likely get some contact with RR ACs, the 3 tanks are just behind them. Transport here is going for cover behind the hill & generally its just trying to hide & stay alive though artys stuff is heading back. AIT> arty was better last go than the previous game it guessed where my mortars are & hit a few & only just missed ammo trucks who are scattering, this turn hits mortars & places some smoke rest avoided. NF> MkIII misses Dingo but squad assaults it, the other one decides to stay where it is, a Morris CS9 appears & tanks get it right this time. SF > ATG damages RR at 100m as it comes into view just killed it as makes writing easier. MF > Did not start to well as missed then N 231 got a kill & 2 CS9s poped smoke, two made it past the 231 & ran into the clutches of the MkIIs who killed the closest & damaged the other. The 231s covering South got a kill & several damage results. Pretty sure a MkIII got a damage result to & there is one Dingo here that poped smoke helping to cover several units. |
T6-7
Unless state otherwise most vehicles are still moving fast, trying to rack up tank kills so arty is not being plotted at present.
NF> Smoke was dropped here by AI hiding tanks coming from NE so move to get past it, 5 VIc now back in sight but range nearly a Km so don't fire. take a shot at Dingo damaging CFN> MkIIs kill 2 CS9s & overtake infantry taking position to engage others MkIIIs &231 do the same taking half the central flags in the process. Light armour will then fall back as A10s are coming. CFS> Both 231s move forward to stand directly in path of RR & both get another kill. MkIIs here are following as quick as is practical. SF> Already mentioned one ATG last post killing RR the other 2 kill a RR & the lead A10, 2 MkIIs get another RR each & the 3rd one moves just in front of the ATG to absorb any fire. Troops here continue SE to flags, 2 ATGs might have to move as wrecks are blocking LOS. AIT> Arty dies down stops on my mortars, soldiers moving for South flags have been detected 2 Spits attack, reasonably spaced though so even with bombs only lost 2 men. MkII bags another CS9 & in the South 2 RR fall to 231 & a MkIII. More shots were exchanged but either missed or no effect. Turn7 NF> Daimler Dingo & CS9 finaly succumb eliminating everything in close proximity. The MkVIcs are continuing West perhaps in the hopes of swinging in for my arty, fire at kills one & forces 2 to use Discharger. Troops here are now moving out towards North flags CFN> Troops here move out after local vehicles are killed MkII gets one MkIII another then MkIIIs move into smoke finding 2 more which are also killed. MkIIIs are now in position to move past smoke & engage A10s that are a Km away, The IIs & 231 are heading in direction of MkVIcs. They can either hunt if escape or go after troops heading for N flags. CFS+ SF> 231s kill 4 RR then head to join MkIIs, MkIIIs kill the last of the RR & one kills an A10 as does an ATG. Remaining A10s will be covered by wrecks next go I think & Vals are still about 1.5Km away so kill is not on the cards. It occurs to me Spits may have been going after ATGs not troops. My AA is more set up to cover middle & North, hard to know where to put it as needs to be back from tanks but as still pushing forward arty might well come down where tanks were. Lets test my luck & move slightly off those positions. You might have noticed I treat meetings as advances generally pushing forward not just sitting there waiting for the AI to come to me. I will do it if opportunities for an ambush are there or heavily outnumbered but my objectives are the flags. All mortars are loaded & mobile heading for the hills AIT> Only arty was 3"MTR near S flags, one MkIII in middle was hit by A10 but range is still to large to worry about. The main action happened up North as 2 more VIcs are destroyed, 3 are left but think they have all used dischargers now. An A10 was engaged as well killing 3 riders |
T8+9
NF> Two MkIIIs open up & kill VIcs the rest engage the closest A10s at about 700m, takes a few hits but kill 3 they all have riders. At least one A10 has made it behind AIs smoke screen. All but one tank closes range.
CF> takes on the middle group of nine A10s, if these had riders they perished along with 4 tanks. Would have been higher but platoon moving from area where MkIIs were discover the terrain there blocks the view so only 1 tank in the platoon gets targets. One of those anomolies height zero but restricts view from certain angles, could be drifting invisible smoke. The 3 MkIIIs that came South round the central hill & are engaging this group cannot move any further without giving flank shots to tanks further South, not droping smoke as hope to eliminate central force next go. SF> Moving forward to try & get targets & both MMGs which do have targets hose down a few tanks, no riders. AIT> A bit of arty but it does not hit anything, very close to one Flakwagen though. Nice thing about quite a lot of WW2 tanks is you don't have to worry much about AP ammo as they carry loads so jst blast away. Shots were exchanged & a few MkIIIs were hit but all fire was from the front. Several A10s were damaged & one was destroyed in both the N+S forces. The central force A10Cs poped smoke. Its a shame AI does not maintain better force cohesion if all the vehicles arrived together things would have been a bit trickier. Turn9 Vals are now visible in the North force & it consists of about 15 tanks. The first foot sloggers have come into view 3 flanking the central force & 4 moving towards S flags. There are also 4 squads that have lost there rides in the North group. CF> goes first killing the 4 tanks there just the A10CS remains but its behind smoke, as it only has a pen of 2 Ram is coming out of hiding while MkIIIs move towards the North group NF> Platoon here engages but range is still to great they kill 2 tanks but it takes several hits so they are closing by moving NW that way the MF is aproaching from a diffrent angle SF> ATGs crawl forward trying to grt some space between them as grouped & MkIIIS take out both remaining A10s before continuing SE closing range, a platoon of them from CF is rushing to assist. All troops do not engage as max or out of range but close on enemy troops, the front ones slow to 2 hexes. As centre is clear MKIIs 231 & HTs are heading for troops to hit them hard, arty has been told weapons are now free its show time. Half the mortars deploy this turn the others will next go. AIT> Very little arty mainly 3"MTR around South flags, little to report from tank exchange but enemy troops took fire mainly from MMGs & a few tanks losing a bit over half a dozen men. Up North as suspected an A10 managed to use the now fading smoke screen to get behind my tanks. The southern Vals have turned for the flags increasing range from MkIIIs that were moving to support. In the dessert my extra experience should pay dividends vs enemy troops, I should spot them easier & my long range fire all other things being equal should hurt more |
T10
NF> Closing the range is paying off tanks killed 5 A10s & routed a Vickers HMG, there are now 12 MkIIIs in the area & 10 of them continue to close after firing.
My troops are falling behind my tanks here but can see about a dozen ex riders & in range of the closest ones, they send 2 squads running inflicting about 8 casulties. The enemy is directly NE of flags within about 300m but some forces on foot that I cant see are North of them, my units near the flags are taking fire from scouts & a sniper. I have 2 scouts & a sniper there looking for them now. CF> Ram kills A10CS pioneers lose a man but we get 5 or so & HTs are turning up, facing 9 squads so far. SF> Five MkIIIs are now within 500yds of Val but it is still undamaged though the amount of shots at it might have him a bit hot n bothered.:D Can see 9 squads here killed about 4 men for no loss routing the lead squad but some of my troops have now been seen as recieving fire, there is an ATR somewhere further South probably with more squads. AIT> The Spits returned each baging a truck, 3 flak fired at to no avail arty landed on some of my troops All troopfire is at long range still can't see North sniper & scouts they killed 3 men SF we got a couple for 1 but in the middle despite the range got about half a dozen. NF> Get another 3 A10s including the one trying to head round the back which is why 2 tanks did not move up, more keep appearing though & target selection is getting hard as there are nearly 20 dead tanks here now blocking sight. SF> KOs its first Val 3 left Much more fun than last game but somewhat outclassed, winding up by turn 20 is looking a posibility as was my original goal. |
T11
NF> 3 M3s fire taking out 2 A10s & immob a 3rd whos crew bail out & are persuaded to leave the hex.
There is a line of half a dozen burning tanks which my tanks south of now take advantage of to close the gap on Vals Tanks closing from SW take out another A10 & damage the lead Val, a M3 is damaged to so it falls back into the dust trail. These tanks are in 2 groups of 6 the SW group are now close to the area hidden scouts & sniper are in. The search is on both scouts move forward then squads draw fire, detect 2 scouts & new pioneer LMG kill a man in each sending them running. The sniper here gets a man & it turns out has a restricted view so forces move forward killing both scouts & generaly putting the frightners on more distant targets. Two squads take time out to deal with the rider of the lone tank that had tried flanking killing 4 & sending him scurrying for friendly lines. CF> There is a sniper here to that remains elusive but find 2 scouts here also killing one. A couple of vehicles prep fire then concentrate all fire on units with ATR to let the HTs lose. They are suffering quite badly men droping here & there so 3 HTs move on South platoon shooting them up at close quarters. What happened to Brit resolve & fighting spirit everyone is running so several HTs & 231s are heading to support SF SF> MMGs fire at troops near Vals then 2 MkIIIs (M3s from now on) fire at remaining Vals then 3 others close for the money shot destroying one & immob the other, further hits damage it more. Squads then fire at nearest units routing while a scout moves towards ATR, its spotted & killed. Looks like the original plan was wrong we will be rolling up from this end first HTs are on the way & its time to let the air commence runs as some arty is visible Flak is playing leap frog now & trucks are coming out of hiding heading for CF & SF, 223Fu breaks cover AIT> 3"MTRs are landing on target at the front line but all 25Pdrs are to far back thoogh how a couple managed to miss my trucks is beyond me. Landed right in a group of them & just caused a few to button. Apart from in the South Brits are in trouble as 5 units or so return fire at any shot he takes, this resulted in the death of N sniper & the central one is now visible. The central force is pretty much routed but the other 2 are still fighting. Tank battles did not achieve much but the other Southern Val was damaged. 3 more A10s are moving towards the centre but they are 2Km away. |
T12-13
NF> Tanks to SW go first most taking a shot then closing range, troops fire at any squads that fire at & another sniper is found. Two of the tanks take time to kill it the rest kill an A10 & send some fire at squads with ATR by Vals. Now the South tanks move as can get to within 100m but discover two ATR teams, troops & furthest tank take on & destroy. Tanks roll on & fire taking 3 Vals down leaving 4 known tanks. Troops move up they need transport as getting left behind & dust is causing problems. Should have thought ahead a bit AA here has to move as tanks have left there umbrella
CF> Northern part is mainly pinned due to enemy arty & it appears there is a scout out there but they still manage to inflict minor damage. Squad loads in a HT & heads towards the scouts area as does the damaged tank & MkIIs. Further South squad moves adj to sniper & says farewell others take shots but are calling for transport to as Brits are going backwards faster than they can keep up. Slightly South of this group a FOO takes pot shots so Ram scout & sniper lead the hunt then HT infantry roll up to the middle & South of this force decimating them. The 2 platoons here are reduced to about 30men in total. SF> 5 tanks vs 2 damaged is no contest then others moving to the area find an ATR & 3 tanks gang up on him killing a man. All tanks now prep fire at the enemy squads, they are tightly bunched here & range is about 300m so casulties start to rack up. MMGs & ATGs get there turn & despite the range ATGs kill 5 or so. The Brits just have no answer when my squads advance only 2 fire + the ATR to the South which is quicly found & killed. ATGs hop on trucks & my troops have never failed to move forward at least 100m. AA here elects to hold position. AIT> All arty is falling behind now & a 3"MTR dies to my plane, it recieves light AA fire. Most of the turn is spent watching people run as any fire by Brit troops leaves a pile of cartridge cases round my men. They did have minor success however as a HT & 231 moving to SF are destroyed while moving South by a 2Pdr ATG, its just South of centre & nearly 1.5Km from nearest vehicles. Remaining tanks up North tried to mount an attack one perished & the others fire was very limited as they to are suffering from multiple fire at syndrome Flags central have been ours for a while now & will finnish taking North ones next go. South we have passed so 233Fu is running down to take them. On board 25Pdrs have been seen & air is targeting Turn 13 NF> Troops here are having trouble finding targets but a few have started working there way North through the carnage at the West End. Tanks killed last 5 armour here & are coming in from the East but now need eyes to catch up, even so the little foray so far has revealed several new squads there is more than a company still knocking around. CF> Finding the FOO costs a man but he loses one to, have to be carefull here due to that ATG so some smoke placed to cover Ram & HTs while allowing MMGs to be brought up. Squads are nearly gone now & 2 scouts were found & engaged by sniper & a tank before being killed. Some of this force is heading North while the rest stroll East on foot. SF> Just keep moving forward about 2/3rds of a company left here Ram & 231 have shown up so tanks are heading East gun hunting as decent armour, found Bofors AA already. The North will be doing the same several breaking off as MkIIs take over infantry support roll. The seen ATG is under arty & what little smoke I have left has been plotted. Some infantry in transport will follow tanks in the dust trails so they can unload & be eyes when armour takes fire AIT> Lose a truck to arty & plane fails to make its attack on 25Pdrs, did not see the gun as it became a fireball. Find a few more units up North an A10 appears through the smoke & is immobilised by scout then squad routes it __________________________________________________ ___________ Bob hows your 200 battle campaign going & a scary note. Reckon I play quite a bit probably 2-3 turns a day average & started this campaign on 5-1 This is my 9th battle I think so managing a bit under 5 battles a month. At this rate with a few specials thrown in should finnish my campaign about this time next year:eek: Kinda freaked me out that |
T14-15
NF> lose 3 men working through the carnage its slow
SF> Moving flat out troops killing closest while Ram & 231 & ATGs spread fire on the rest to keep there heads down MMG & scouts are generaly breaking off & in transport to hunt guns 6 M3 have broken off up North to hunt but nothing so far, down South 9 are heading out & can see 3 2pdrs & 5 Bofors a 25Pdr fired to but not detected only took 2 shots. Not bothering to return fire just rolling till range is under 1KM which it is now for front couple of tanks. In the middle troops are on foot with some vehicles due to smoke use Spits came in again got a couple of men & a truck empty as unloaded thinking imminent, AA missed only 2 in area Could have taken all flags but will put off for a couple of turns. Turn15 NF> no casulties this time as mainly through the mess, units closing from West have sped up & FOO is acting as a scout circling at moderate range to see units when they fire. More units found its more like 2 companies here, concentrate on taking down Vickers HMG & ATR units. Relief from the centre is arriving so a couple of M3 are trying to work behind the enemy to see if guns fire at. Aim is to get some troops here to cut off the escape path as soon as pos. South tanks fire then move on & clever use of dust & smoke :) he says going for braging rights lets central troops move up including transport. They find HQ & both forces fire have taken out 2 2Pdrs + a Bofors Had not lost a man till arty fell destroying flakwagen truck & half its passengers. My remaining plane came in from a diffrent angle killing at least one 25Pdr |
T16-21
NF> continues to advance now cleared the wreckage can see there are more like 3 companys here being forced back. Maybe keeping a few more vehicles to lay down the love might have been wise thats a lot of people to keep running. A few tanks make it to cut any escape & they should be joined next turn, fire here is now mainly short ranged. Brit casulties are decidly unhealthy & some of my relief troops will be late as need to detor because of arty.
SF> troops are reduced to platoon level, tanks carry on attacking guns 4 Bofors are left 2 with reduced crews. MMGs are in place to join in & scout is heading for likely 3"Mtr pos. The 3 A10s in the middle are attacked by both groups of tanks resulting in a kill & immob result. Having to move 80mmMtrs targets out of range. AIT> The bloodbath continues as the net closes, HQ dies to sniper fire, arty missed but seems last turn also immob a HT & got 2 more trucks including half the passengers on one. North tanks recieving bofors fire one is seen. Turn17 The SF ceases to exist & scout finds 2 3"Mtr kills + routes respectivly. MMGs fire at boffors then tanks take over, one is ok but the other 2 are hurt bad so turn atention to A10s waving them goodbye before rolling ever forward. Centre is running out of smoke but push forward to killing straglers & engaging another Mtr. North tanks close range on bofors it seems alone. NF> Vehicles continue to share the love as troops continue the kill fest, there is one MMG here & his blood letting is violent picking a squad surrounded by others he is hitting multi targets killing over 10 men in one turn. The tanks coming from the West have moved to the North so dust trails are not a problem, at the east end troops have deployed & have there hands full with the tide of men coming there way. A few can be seen who have already escaped the net but tanks can hunt them. AIT> lost another couple of trucks to arty targeting central group. There are 3 bofors to the North visible now. NF is about 2 comp now & some are trying to slip the net by routing NE. Funny to watch but 2 pretty intact squads routed past a line of 3 of my squads shrinking then vanishing. T18 Wow total devastation its like they are just melting the 2 companies are now 1/2 of one. Awesome display of firepower probably the best kill zone ever. 2 bofors remain one is hurt & 2 25Pdrs both hurt taking flag & winding up not worried about getting bits & pieces we have a boat to catch for Russia Spits make another run taking a HT & truck but one is not going home. T19-21 Troops did not even get a chance to run just wiped out, a bofors remains & 25Pdr all my arty that can reach is on it as 6 A10s entered this go. Troops furthest forward have to drop smoke to let there vehicles pull back safely. Close range as quick as pos & manage to kill first 6 before game ends. They had riders that survived & more entered on turn 20 that never got time to engage. Decisive Vic __________________________________________________ _______________________ Sorry endings a bit short but the stereo decided to kicked into overdrive great mix of songs resulting in major volume boost, a trip down memory lane & some leapin about so forgot to write. How is it my home stereo is 500w & my car is supposed to be double that but the house can blow it away on 4, sounds way better to. Helena says its down to speaker size but I think she is being rude. |
Russian Offensive is a go
Adolf seems to think we need a bit more space to grow so its off to Russia for us spearheading the advance once more.
The boat trip & subsequent train ride to our start point means we have had little time to get new equipment, however we have managed to upgrade our offboard troop from 10 to 11.4cm & have recieved 2 infantry AAMGs to provide some protection for the artillery. Additionally we have been informed that while most of Ivans armour is no match for ours he does have a few formidable toys, in view of this 1 squad in each platoon has given up his SMG for a Brandflasche & some AT capability. The Lufwaffe have 4x 110s & 2x Spotters on call should we need them though as we are going at first light visibility is limited 21. Terrain is mainly level 1 with some depresions mainly 150-300m wide, there are half a dozen clusters of light woods & a road running roughly E>W about 4/5ths the way down our area of operations which is centred on a rail line running SW>NE. There are a few very small settlements along the line & a road of little use at the extreme North. Our objective is to clear the area past the rail line so engineers can begin the task of converting it to our trains gauge for supply route purposes allowing us to continue the advance. Sorry forgot to save map Morale is high 95 as a few units made elite status. Company A with 10 tanks a 231 & some transport will head of down the Southern road. The rest will push off roughly down the centre. There are a couple of limited depresions transport might be able to drive into undetected though they do not extend very far East. Pre bombardment 2 batts of 122 & 76 some hits trucks still mobile but 2 squads routed with 4 men lost, also a flakwagen takes 2 damage but can still move, could have been worse. Moving out SF>Comp A sets of down the road, if enemy has deployed forward it will become visible as it enters one of the biggest depressions, trucks HTs then tanks with riders follow. Trucks reach a bottle neck after this it opens up, the road heading NE exiting the depresion in about 500m. There is a line of trees slightly closer running SE that we can use, here the depression carrys on for another 500m ending in woods. The road runs through the North end of the woods but if I move to level 1 without scouting tanks are open to flank shots. Turn2 troops unload behind tree line & lead tanks drop riders further back so free to support but will be moving quick if needed as catching up. CF> Comp C Taxis enter a depresion it runs SE for about a kilo, at the most northern part a bit over 500m away there is about 500m of L1 before the start of another depresion. It is long E>W & probably worth a scout looking at whats in it. Generaly though probably better to spend a few turns moving along & exit heading towards woods, due to shape have to check area 3/4 of way there as contact is possible Tanks here are running in open & could come ito sight next turn. NF>Comp B is heading down 2 depresions, one small one just N of CF scout is ready to exit & this is mainly just that a look in force. Further N heading down a depresion is most of the force it meanders slightly SE ending near a few buildings on the rail line. The trouble is its very narrow in the mid part (50-100m) so may not provide much cover. Also next go we have to cross 50m of L1 to enter the next part. I am guessing eyes will be on it. Turn2 It turns out high grass restricts view quite a bit, scout had a look then bike picks him up heading further along, 4 trucks make it over as well the rest stacked behind it in the dip. Battery is in CB mode & AI finnishes its pre bombard then silence Most of mine is still mobile deploying next turn but 6 tubes ready target the N+S depresions, remember I have spotter planes so sending for a probe in the South. Armour is split from N>S Light, ave, heavy |
T3
Turn3
SF> Scout enters tree line, 3 squads at 200m if vehicles use the bit of depression to North should be safe from ATGs so 231 introduces Germany to the Soviets, 2 Hts & M3 join in all pinned or worse so sqaud moves to trees routes them all but recieves fire. HT risks fire & pinns before moving behind trees, MMGs move up another 2 & he loses a man. One of these squads is on L1, tanks further back manage to rout him. this means we have been seen for at least one turn possibly 2. Other vehicles move up & we have all 6 running. Perhaps foolishly scout & a squad leave trees squad recieves fire from a squad to S & a Maxim HMG in E woods, not worried about squad several vehicles will fire at but remaining vehicles risk ATGs to engage HMG routing it to, lucky really all but one was moving fast. CF> One scout is in position to see if its safe to continue along the depresion the other exits on his way to the next depression, a MMG & ATG will follow him NF> Scout is out of the small depresion others will follow. in the big depresion scout is tentativly entering where it opens up & has buildings in sight. Platoon unloads behind some trees ready to follow, rest are playing catchup tanks now 500m back but 2 squads are ready to move to L1 so we have some eyes there. AA has gone as far as it dare for the moment, holding position as cover MF & some of NF AIT> The squad & maxim both fire squad losing a couple of men. AI drops smoke well forward of my NF arty there could well have been for nought. Spotters come in & despite vision do an exelent job, one recieves fire from DT AAMG but is fine. Turns out there are 8 squads at L1 covering the road & the same again S & E of my present position, may be more in woods that they did not see. 4 of the original squads are running. |
T3
SF> Scout enters tree line, 3 squads at 200m if vehicles use the bit of depression to North should be safe from ATGs so 231 introduces Germany to the Soviets, 2 Hts & M3 join in all pinned or worse so sqaud moves to trees routes them all but recieves fire. HT risks fire & pinns before moving behind trees, MMGs move up another 2 sighted, lose a man. One of these squads is on L1, tanks further back manage to rout him. this means we have been seen for at least one turn possibly 2. Other vehicles move up & we have all 6 running. Perhaps foolishly scout & a squad leave trees squad recieves fire from a squad to S & a Maxim HMG in E woods, not worried about squad several vehicles will fire at but remaining vehicles risk ATGs to engage HMG routing it to, lucky really all but one was moving fast.
CF> One scout is in position to see if its safe to continue along the depresion the other exits on his way to the next depression, a MMG & ATG will follow him. NF> Scout is out of the small depresion others will follow. in the big depresion scout is tentativly entering where it opens up & has buildings in sight. Platoon unloads behind some trees ready to follow, rest are playing catchup tanks now 500m back but 2 squads are ready to move to L1 so we have some eyes there. AA has gone as far as it dare for the moment, holding position as cover CF & some of NF AIT> The squad & maxim both fire squad losing a couple of men. AI drops smoke well forward of my NF arty there could well have been for nought. Spotters come in & despite vision do an exelent job, one recieves fire from DT AAMG but is fine. Turns out there are 8 squads at L1 covering the road & the same again S & E of my present position, may be more in woods that they did not see. 4 of the original squads are running. |
T4
NF> Alls quite the depression is about 500m across with trees splitting, if the other side is empty will take up positions to exit across its width, if AI smoke is any indication may be enemy towards N end of.
CF> Scout can see part of next depression & is by it, a few units are taging along for the ride & 231s are exploring a line of trees as an aproach, slightly risky but high grass restricts view. Scout at South end getsin place & a squad goes recieving fire, 233Fu routes him. Hes on L1 & we have some woods we can use, rest move up but will not be in position properly till following turn, my armour is closing fast to provide support. SF> To many targets vehicles have to work some magic here or we will take loses, as it looks like no ATGs cover the depression concentrate fire here & once rout everyone troops move to see outcome. This produces another 3 squads one in the woods who by the end of the turn is the only ready unit. Scout moves to level 1, big smile as discover grass & earth restrict nearly all view to 500m, order given & tanks roll up the road. My glea dies slightly when I realise half of the 8 squads here are using it as cover but we route2 & pinn 2. 4 tanks + same number of sqauds are at level 1 & we have taken no loses. It is becoming obvious these Russians were not expecting this, no onslaught of fire is required they are folding easily especialy if we cast our minds back to the Greeks & how dogedly they continued to fight on. I am sure several will rally but they are only needing a little prompting to get their heads down. spotters are flying NE this time for a look at if anythings heading for the smoke. AIT> 1 squad loses 2 men but Russians lose there first squad |
| All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:20 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©1999 - 2025, Shrapnel Games, Inc. - All Rights Reserved.