AAR: Long Generated Campaign US v Communist

[Hermit]

Northern units are almost to the back-side of the big hill, and will soon turn south to approach the objective area. No enemy units have been detected in this area at all. The quietness is a little disturbing, and it's gotten everyone on edge. We're wondering if an ambush is waiting around the corner. It's so nerve-wracking that the onscene commander sent two tank sections and a platoon of infantry in their M-75 APC's back northward to cover the road where the T-34's appeared from over a small rise a short time ago. The infantry dismounted and searched down the road past the burning hulks and adjacent woodland, but haven't seen any more approaching units. The support units heading south for the pincer move have just come into range of some of the enemy positions, and have started harassing fire just to lower the enemy morale.

In the center, we had some heroic action by the crew of one of the M103 heavy tanks. We had allowed the smoke to clear around the enemy IS-2m, and one of our heavy tanks deliberately maneuvered out into the open to get a shot at it. Although probably supressed somewhat by our recent artillery rounds, it still posed a real threat with its 122mm main gun. And it was singlehandedly blocking the southern arm of the pincer, and we didn't want to pass it by in case it decided to come at us from the rear. It got a shot off first, which impacted the M103 and left a huge divot in the glacis. The impact was so loud, it must have stunned the driver, since the grinding of gears could be heard and our tank slowed to a stop. The gunner was apparently not so severely affected, and he got his shot off from about 450 meters. He also hit on the first round, and it penetrated the side of the enemy tank with a "Cccrumpp!" A couple of the enemy crew bailed out, and hunkered down in the pit with their burning vehicle.

Other center units continued climbing the hill, and are just about to enter the woods surrounding the objective area. The enemy 76mm AT gun was made ineffective when one of our light attack helos made a few passes and tore up the exposed crew.

In the south, there was more heroism, as a 1/2 track from division ran a high-speed crossing movement about 500 meters from the remaining IS-2m guarding the southern objective. The enemy tank fired and missed with its main gun, although the 1/2 track's engine was shot up and it was immobilized by the large AA machine gun on the tank. We're mystified how the AAMG was able to function after the pounding that tank took from our artillery. Nevertheless, perhaps that's the reason the tank missed with its main gun, as the commander was busy working the MG rather than spotting main-gun fire. A nearby Patton took the opportunity to approach from the other side, and before the Chinese gunner could get his turret swiveled around, the Patton hit it with a flank shot from about 300 meters away, which despite its thick armor was enough to knock it out with one shot. That 1/2 track crew is going to be recommended for the Silver Star! With the main threat removed, our tanks and APCs followed dismounted infantry to within 100 meters of the objective area, approaching slowly due to both the heavily cratered ground, and the fear of mines. Those fears were realized when one of the infantry teams located an errant minefield with a Mark 1, Mod 5 Big Toe. "Stretcher!"

[Hermit]

Southern units have completely occupied the objective area and fended off a few enemy infantry units attempting to take it back. Most had been demoralized and absorbed casualties from our artillery, which had intercepted their attempts to move up from their guarding positions. A final SU-76M was discovered immobilized in a shallow ravine on the reverse side of a small hillock. It was quickly dispatched by a Sherman Flail that approached it from the rear. Support units fanning out further to the south discovered a nest of HG assault infantry still waiting for orders. APC's and mortar 1/2 tracks are keeping them pinned down while Sherman flame tanks and a few infantry units accompanying them are disloging them from their positions.

A precision airstrike suppressed the enemy T-34's we had been unable to approach earlier, while our snipers kept the heads down of a nearby squad. Three 75mm recoilless rifles were able to get set up, and while scout teams snuck up and launched diversionary attacks, the 75 mm RR's were able to dispatch both tanks. One of the scout teams got so audacious, they made a running assault on the enemy infantry. Despite their ferocity, they were repulsed, in large part due to suppressing fire from three enemy squads across the small valley. The scouts were rescued when two snipers picked off all of the enemy soldiers near the tanks. Three MG's and the 90 mm AT guns on top of the BIG hill were able to keep the attention of the three squads across the valley.

In the center, depite the difficult natural terrain of the hill, the extensive cratering of the landscape, and the minefields very slow progress is being made. An SU-76M has also been spotted in this area, but it will probably be left for clean-up operations after the main battle. It's too close to risk an artillery barrage, the air cover has all returned to base, and it is shielded from the objective area by terrain. A pesky squad firing from dense smoke has not yet been located, but it is more a nuisance than a threat. Half of the objective area is under our control, and the rest will be as well once the mines are cleared. Another AA gun was located when it minced a divisional rifle squad at 200 meters, but was quickly eliminated. Helos have located and destroyed three 60 mm mortars behind the hill that started to shell us repeatedly once we approached the objective area.

In the north, the pincer movement is succeeding better than hoped. Eight enemy infantry units have been destroyed thus far, and another six are under intense fire. One M75 was destroyed when it wandered too close to an RCL 51 launcher, which managed to get a lucky hit. One of the two snipers in the area was almost gunned down when his position was spotted and several enemy squads chose to make him their last target. He popped smoke and called for a pick-up, which arrived in the nick of time.

As in the center, we have about 1/2 of the objective area in the north occupied, and were merely clearing mines when a platoon or two of enemy infantry advanced on our flank. Our outlying squads came under heavy fire and one withdrew. Due to the undulations of the terrain, only one tank and one APC were able to lend defensive fire support. Other vehicles are manuevering carefully to avoid mines, but should be in a position to respond in short order. The enemy's position seems rather hopeless at this point, and it will probably boil down to how long the Chinese stubborness persists against our intense firepower.

[Hermit]

There have been minor losses in all three areas, despite our impending victory:

Mopping up operations continue in the south, and the entire objective area appears clear. The nest of infantry has also had major chunks cleared, but a temporary setback occured when a hidden 76mm AT gun in the edge of a small wood to the south opened up on advancing M75 APC's. One was destroyed and another immobilized before a mortar 1/2 track was able to lay smoke in between. A nearby light attack helo dove in and blasted it with .30 cal MG fire after it had been suppressed by friendly infantry. Another T-34 was accidentally discovered near the two recently destroyed, under heavy camoflage. It opened up on a scout team, which lost a man and then went screaming off into the woods. They have not responded to repeated radio calls, but other troops are certain they survived the encounter. It also destroyed one of the 75mm RR teams, who just disintegrated when an 85mm round landed on them. Some of the recoilless rounds they were carrying must have gone off. The other two 75mm RR teams hit it repeatedly with HEAT rounds, but none penetrated its armour. The remaining scout team wreathed it in smoke, and both they and two MG teams fired hundreds of small arms rounds at it. It is buttoned up tightly and appears to be trying to bug out.

In the center, a friendly fire incident occurred when one of our 155mm batteries did not get the word to cease fire, and at the same time allowed it's salvo to move slightly to the east. Two friendly squads were caught advancing, although thankfully in rough terrain where they were able to find some cover. Five men in one squad and three in another were blown to bits, and now the men in those squads are refusing to move from cover. All of the objective area is in our hands, however, and there appears to be little, if any, resistance left here either. There is that Su-76 about 150 meters down the back slope, and the men are discussing whether anyone has the guts to make a move on it. There's a strong probability it was been immobilized, so it may be possible to circle around and get a bead on it from the rear. The captain has promised a free weekend pass for any team that takes it out.

In the north, two tanks and one APC were immobilized by mines hidden under the snow blanket. I guess we should be thankful that's all that happened. The enemy infantry continues advancing, but now that supporting fire is available, most of them are cut down fairly quickly. We only suffered one man wounded, while at the same time they suffered about 25 casualties in the past five minutes or so. Artillery has been targetted at their suspected approach zones. Mine clearing in the objective area is going very slowly, despite the lack of any real resistance, because the mines are sewn so thickly. The engineering team leader believes another ten minutes or so will be required before the area is finally safe to enter.

[Hermit]

The 60 mm mortar shelling the northern group was finally located taking shelter in a crater from our earlier bombardements. Once it was neutralized, the mine clearing finished quickly, and we occupied the final objective area. The Chinese must have realized their diminished forces had no hope of taking back that real estate once we seized the final objective. They left the battlefield and went crying to their Mammas! Apparently their complaints were heard, because as we suspected when we first launched this attack, we have been ordered to abandon our newly captured positions "in order to promote the peace process." Bah, humbug!

After the usual refit period, we have been sent back to confront the Soviets again. One of the local commanders has gotten too big for his pants, and seized some tourists who wandered into the occupied area of East Germany. When their family members went to plead for their release, he grabbed them too. The Soviet diplomats have basically given our inquiries into the mattter the shoulder shrug, claiming there's nothing they can do. Well, there IS something we can do. But the Soviet's acquisition of the A-bomb a few years ago makes things tricky. We don't want any itchy fingers pushing a big red button by accident (or on purpose, for that matter), so we are making a bold daylight raid with clearly defined force size and operational area, so they'll know its not an invasion.

The terrain is flat as a pancake, with the only cover provided by some large wooded areas, high grass, and a few towns straddling the main E-W road. Visibility is clear, and we're headed out just after noon. You can see about 3 & 1/2 kilometers in the open areas. (I tried to copy the map and post for everyone's benefit, but the color pallette was all screwed up and it was useless. I'll try to post a sketch later). Division has supplied two armored infantry companies, two 105mm batteries, 1/2-track transports for our big guns, and the usual complement of ammo carriers. Three M20 armored cars from the recon company were also cross attached to provide fast scouting, since helos will be extremely vulnerable in this flat terrain. The assignment of some air cover was procured at the last minute, but the only stuff available was some older P-47 Thunderbolts from WWII era. I hear they can take a beating, and they'll probably need it since they are pretty darn slow. The colonel used our recent victory as leverage to get two transport helos and a scout helo transferred to us on a permanent basis. Some of the recon boys are all excited by that, and have visions of secretly dropping behind enemy lines and raising hell. We'll have to see if that's all bravado, or whether they will do it when the time comes.

The plan is to allow infantry to do a quick march down the road, in the wake of the armored cars and a barrage by the 105 batteries. The two battalions will pace them on the flanks about 400 or 500 meters out, each led by an armored infantry company. The ArmInf will dismount when the enemy area is approached, and clear woods and dash across open terrain while the vehicles and armor provide fire support from the woodlines. The main road passes near the central objective, just to the south of it, and a dirt road branches off to the SE and cruises close to the southern objective area. How convenient. So the northern objective will be the most difficult to reach. The towns along the main road will be both an obstacle and a source of covering fire once taken, so we'll go ahead and attack them rather than bypassing them, after a good dose of artillery of course.

[Hermit]

So far, the operation has progressed as planned. Initially the enemy let loose with several batteries of 122mm howitzers, but either their plotting is very bad, or they're just randomly shooting and hoping to get lucky. Either way, after ten minutes of counter-battery fire, their divisional guns have gone silent. Then they started with a couple of 122mm field howitzers, and our own SPA artillery fired at the area where their smoke was coming from. They have been silent for a while now too, and I think we got a couple of 'em.

We haven't run into a cohesive defensive line, per se, so I think our bold thrust must have caught them off guard a little. The colonel had our new observation helo take a high orbit, and it drew alot of AA fire from enemy vehicles in the lead part of the enemy defenses. Most of them were APC's, and we assigned artillery batteries to smother them. Several blew up after a couple minutes of shelling.

The hot action has started in a clearing near the first big town on the E-W road. The enemy had three T-54-3 tanks and two 85m AT guns in the wooded area just past the town, and several infantry and MG positions to the South. Our infantry crept forward occassionally taking fire as they were spotted by enemy units. We elected not to smoke the area, as we wanted to locate the enemy units when they fired at us at long range, instead of stumbling on them real close. Artillery was rained on the AT guns, and we brought up the four heavy M103 tanks to engage the T-54's. We shelled them with the 60 mm SPA mortars in the 1/2-tracks just to harass them, then the M103's rolled out from the woodline and exchanged fire with them. Two of the enemy tanks were destroyed in this manner, while the third was screened by smoke resulting from the 60 mm mortar barrage. While we were repositioning, the enemy replied with a volley from their own 82mm and 120 mm mortars. Most fell off target (we moved) but several fell among our infantry, and we took about 10 casualties. One squad took 5 all by itself. Time to bug out of that area until we can find their source.

To avoid crossing that open area with more vulnerable units who could get popped by unseen enemy AT units, the 2nd battalion has been diverted south through the woods to cross at a smaller gap. They'll then work their way back NE to link up and provide more fire support for the infantry that will head down the dirt road.

After a heavy shelling of 105mm, the town is partially rubbled and on fire. Four enemy infantry were encountered in various states of disarray and cleared from the town by our men, backed up by the Pershing CS tanks and one of the flame tanks. Another T-54 is hiding in a wooded thicket on the eastern side of the town, blocking the road since we can't get at it from the front with the M103's. Besides, at that close range (350 meters) it stands a good chance of knocking them out instead. We'll have to wait for artillery to knock it around a bit before approaching, but we can't afford to hold still while the Russians still have those mortars available. For now, most of the force on the north side will drive deeper into the woods and creep slowly forward to bypass that clearing area.

[Hermit]

The battle went well for us in terms of equipment, but there were unexpectedly high casualties in our infantry teams. Poor tactics on the commander's part were partially responsible for these losses, as it was assumed enemy units would be (a) easier to spot while not-entrenched, and (b) less responsive after shelling. The lighter 60 mm mortars and 105mm howitzers, as opposed to 81mm mortars and 155 mm howitzers, definitely had less suppression effect on the enemy units. While our troops did destroy many good quality enemy tanks in the woods, they took a beating while doing so. Several infantry units were reduced to 1/2 strength or less, and only their high morale kept them from disbanding completely.

The final attack ended up have three prongs. The northern prong was manuevered to intercept Russian heavy tanks that were spotted moving south from the northern battle area once some of our objectives were taken. The enemy had at least six IS-II and four IS-III tanks, and this was the first time we encountered IS-III's. They have THICK armor. This prong of units did NOT take the northern objective, but rather was defensive only. It was comprised of 10 of Battalion A's twelve main force tanks, with six lying in ambush in a woodline watching the dirt road that angled down SE through a narrow gap in the woodlands. A town just to the NE straddling the road provided cover for the four others. As the Russian tanks came down the road, the first group would fire upon the enemy vehicles with incredible courage, as their rounds would usually miss on the first shot, and even when they hit they had very little chance of penetrating the enemy armor. However, they did attract the enemy's attention, and as the enemy tanks turned to face them, the other four would push out from behind the town and take flank and rear shots at them. We succeeded in killing nine of the enemy juggernauts, with one IS-III retreating behind the hulks of his comrades.

The middle prong, composed of all the dismounted infantry from Bn A, plus the two remaining main force tanks and all the support tanks, pushed east through a large wooded area in front of the middle objective. In the eastern edge of this woods we encountered a company of enemy T-54-3 tanks with a few infantry support. This was the subject of intense combat, with a few infantry skirmishes and MANY infantry assaults on the enemy armor. As mentioned above, the enemy armor was not sufficiently suppressed, and unfortunately our boys took alot of unnecessary casualties. Some tactical training will be conducted by divisional instructors prior to our next engagement! After pushing through the edge of the woods, we encountered the enemy's main defensive line, with two or three tanks companies and many supporting infantry in the 400meter gap from the woods to the objective area. After our mauling in the woods, we knew it would be a suicidal attack plan to charge them with only our rolling barrage as support. The barrage smoke was allowed to clear while we hunkered down and regrouped in the woods. Then I saw a beautiful thing: eight P-47's came boiling down on the enemy tank concentration like angry hornets, guns and rockets blazing. Five enemy tanks were destroyed, and many others suppressed by the hail of bullets and rockets. We saw one aircraft get hit by flak, but that Thunderbolt lived up to its reputation for toughness and was able to get enough altitude back to limp home. That was followed by a massed barrage of 155mm artillery, which caused most of the enemy vehicles to completely shut down. Our tanks rolled forward and destroyed four more enemy tanks that were not hidden by all the smoke. Only one enemy tank returned fire, thankfully missing his target. Our infantry then ran forward with a yell, and all the enemy tanks that didn't flee were quickly overrun. Objective secured!! We also stumbled across several AA and AT guns that had been upset or suppressed by the artillery barrage, and we rendered them all useless for good measure. Then we turned north, and after minimal skirmishes, also occupied the northern objective.

In the south, Bn B traversed the SE running dirt road, where a Sherman Flame and a Sherman Flail were destroyed by enemy infantry AT weapons. Both crews survived with minimal casualties, and after some unremarkable combined arms skirmishes, the southern objective was also taken. With the area secure, an intense search for the hostages was undertaken. While we did not locate the errant general and his staff, we did rescue the hostages from a remote farm and they have been returned to German soil to prepare for their trip back to the US.

[Lt. Ketch]

Great AAR! It's taken me a while to work up to here, but it has been well worth it. I particularly love your mix of the objective with the dramatic. Well done!

[Hermit]

Ketch, thanks for the vote of confidence. Glad y'all are enjoying this. My long absence was caused by a shoulder injury which prevented me from typing (and doing much else) for a while. So I got way behind in real life as well.

The next battle was an assault against Chinese that went fairly smoothly and took 42 turns. Nothing exciting to report that I recall, except I was able to locate the enemy HQ and destroy it. A Sherman Flail support vehicle, a few support 1/2 tracks, and one of my M-47 Pattons were destroyed. Year rolled over to 1954, next battle is Advance on Chinese, but haven't really started it yet. I didn't upgrade any of my units, despite the fact that M-48 Pattons are now available, figuring it wasn't worth the experience loss. However, in hindsight I should have done a few and phased them in over time, since they have 10 visibility. This was brought home by the visibility range of "11" in the new battle. If it had been less, the M-48's could have come in handy.

I'll continue reports as time permits.

[Hermit]

The team has been sent to China, our first deployment against them since the cease fire in Korea was signed last year. There are reports that many American POW's from the war are still in the hands of the Chinese. We have been sent on a reconnaisance-in-force to determine whether a small town is a POW site, and to resuce any Americans we find.

The terrain is still barren in this late winter expedition, although there are only a few patches of snow in the area. The ground is hard, with none of the infamous mud that we've encountered on previous battles with the Chinese. The trees are almost bare of leaves, which will help with the reconnaisance mission. The terrain is mostly flat, with a few level 20 hills scattered here and there, with scattered groups of trees as well. There are two E-W roads in the southern operational area, which converge near our launch point, and another on the far northern part of the area.

We're scheduled to launch the operation just after dawn, as soon as visibility gets to about 500 meters, the maximum range of our small arms. Because of the nature of the mission, and the pull-back of regular combat troops, the only divisional support available is some on-call airstrikes and a handful of recon teams that have been tasked to locate the detention camp. Those six platoons of scouts will fan out ahead of our two battalions, hopefully finding the objective and marking any enemy positions for engagement by our main forces.

As usual, we will be splitting into the two battalion-sized forces to advance until the enemy is discovered. The southern group will travel on the hard-packed earth between the two roads, while the northern group threads its way cross-country between the small hills and woods clusters. Just as we started off, some of the enemy's regulary patrol planes must have spotted us, because artillery started falling around us, although thank heaven none of our units were hit. They have started using the BIG guns against us this time, probably because we're on their own soil. At least two batteries of 152mm were heard blasting the earth up in the distance. We were also caught by surprise when an IL-10 Beast (yes, that's what its called) dove out of the sky and started an attack run over our position. Fortunately, our Dusters had not yet packed up for moving, and they were able to throw up a hellacious barrage of shells that distracted the Chinese pilot's attention. All the AAMG's in our group opened up as well, and the "Beast" ended up a smoking hole in the ground after it was hit several times. I counted at least three times his plane shuddered from the impact of our AA fire, but it wasn't until he had already headed for home that we were finally able to bring him down.

[Hermit]

Our forces began rolling forward, being careful to avoid areas of artillery strikes in case a second barrage follows. After clearing the original launch points and travelling about 10 mins into the enemy territory, our troops stopped. We wanted to make sure any units spotted and who's position was called in by the Beast did not receive an unwelcome "hello" from the Chinese arty. Then divisional scouts were deployed to recon the ground in front of the advancing columns. Our own recon platoons were dropped in blind areas, near units spotted during the two transport helo's forward flight. One of them drew enemy fire as it lifted off, and was hit lightly in the fuselage. The pilot radio'd that he wasn't taking any chances and headed for the rear lines to get repairs. I hope the recon teams aren't discovered and overrun by enemy forces, because it will be difficult to extract them with only one helo. Two of the light attack helo's have been moved forward to provide fire support in a pinch, but that won't help if Chinese armor moves in. So far they have not reported any incoming fire, so we believe the covert infiltration was successful.

I don't know what's going on back there with our artillery crews, but so far they've been doing a pretty crappy job of counterbattery fire. The enemy artillery keeps hammering away, searching out our location. Fortunately they haven't been very lucky, but that's gonna change sooner or later. Our guys better get their act together soon.

About 20 mins after we launched, another "Beast" came zooming out of the sky, and made a pass about 1 km ahead of us. It began strafing and shooting it's AT rockets at the crest of a small hill, and all of a sudden there was a big explosion. The colonel did a quick radio check to get a sitrep on all our units, wondering who was so gung-ho that they'd charged out ahead of the main body. All units reported in OK, and none reported aerial attack. That's when we realized they'd just ice'd one of their own! When the smoke and debris cleared, we could see the silhouetted outline of a burning tank on the crest of the hill. Shouts and "wooo-hoo's" erupted from our lines until the officers told everyone to shut-up and keep their heads down.