Re: A runamia AAR
Sixth Battle ( Delay - 42 turn - visibility 39 )
Pre-Battle:
After our failure to get a decisive victory the enemy seemed ready to launch a counter attack, we were ordered to delay their advance. The enemy armor was every day more advanced, we have concerns about our capacity to stop it.
Battle plan:
There was a road at the north which cross all the map from east to west, no river this time. Two victory objective were next to the road, they were behind a forest. The third victory objective was far at the south, also a behind small forest. Between them there was a big plain.
Company A will be deployed at the north forest supported by two AT-guns. Company B will be deployed at the south forest supported by two AT-guns also.
We will cover the gap between them with two AT-guns more plus the HMG section of the company C and snipers.
Two AT-guns more, tanks plus company C without their HMG will be the reserve.
The plan was simple, keept the ground. Use reserve as movile reinforcement.
Go:
After few minutes of calm some groups of light tanks (T60) could be spotted along all the front, orders were to hold the fire until enemy was really near. This was because the poor performance of out AT weapons vs the newer enemy armor.
After successfully destroying the most of the light tanks their big brothers come, a big group of T-28 multiturrets at the north and center, A group of Valentine III at the south, and still more light tanks supporting them.
Also some cavalry squads at the north and a big infantry group at the south. The firsts ones were neutralized by HMG fire, but our fire power was to low to stop the infantry.
Heavy artillery was plotted over the T-28 groups, the advance at the center was fast neutralized, trough the north road the enemy advanced routing our AT-gun crews and entered into the forest. AT-teams were ready to ambush them, but they were far outnumbered.
Also it become obvious that the south flank was so weak, a tank manage to do an encirclement and reach the victory objective, the engineers section engaged it in close combat and successfully destroyed. But there was a big concern about the possibility of a big group doing the same maneuver. One of the central HMG were ordered to reinforce this flank.
At the south the Valentines III proved to be protected against our AT-guns even at short distance. So heavy artillery was requested to try to stop them
.
At the north forest enemy tanks advanced, orders were retread into the forest while fighting, set and ambush then move back and set a new ambush ... Our infantry close assaulted the enemy tanks all the time, the loses of Russian were huge.
A remarkable action was done by the Caporal Duca Squad. Two tanks next to the south road border were to annihilate the Caporal Muru squad, Duca and his men were hidden at the north border of the road, when tanks were to attack he leaded his squads and attacked them at the back with hand grenades. They knocked a T-28, then another T-28 and finally a T-26. Three tanks in less than 10 minutes. Great !!!!
(off topic: please add a game option to give medals for this kind of actions)
At the south forest similar orders were dispatched, with similar results, as soon as tanks went inside the forest were assaulted taking heavy causalities, also enemy infantry squads were ambushed.
Despite the valor of our men actions the situation of noth forest front was desperate , fight was very hard. Soviets were blasting the area with heavy artillery, many of their men died by friendly fire, also his tanks were suppressed by their fire. But at our lines the situation was chaotic, many squads were unable to move, neither advance or retread and were taking heavy loses. Company A have had about 60% of causalities. The only good thing was that enemies who arrives at the forest border was being destroyed by our tanks and AT-guns.
At the south forest things went better, defense was solid, enemy lost many tanks and their artillery wasn't a big problem by now. Also C company arrived allowing an in depth defense which probed very effective.
Then after the biggest artillery fire which we ever had seen the front at the north forest collapse, all men remaining of the A company flies, the forest was on Russian hands, now our tanks had to defend the forest border at any price.
Fortunately enemy tanks reached the forest border one by one, rather than in a compact block, so our tiny defenses can deal with them. Also some infantry reached the victory objectives by the road, our mortars fired over them, after few fire exchange they routed.
Finally enemy attack lost their force and we were able to take the control of the forest back to our hands.
Marginal victory for us !!
Post Battle thoughts:
It was a hard battle, enemy number were really big, enemy armor was far better than our self, for example 3 R2 have fired to a 1 Valentine at 100m without being able to knock it, even our AT-guns had problems in medium range distance (more than 500m).
As example of numbers, enemy deployed:
--------------Total---destroyed---routed
T28--------------19-----18---------1
T60--------------13-----13---------0
Valentine III----27-----18---------9
T26--------------20-----19---------1
Everything vs 6xR2 tanks and 8x47 mm AT-guns. Obviously infantry had to play a big antitank role.
The worst is that enemy will kept improving their numbers and material while we can expect anything new for a long time.
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