AAR: Balkans N. Africa Leg

[Imp]

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 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

[Imp]

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.

[Imp]

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.

[Imp]

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.

[Imp]

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
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

[Imp]

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.

[Imp]

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.