Villers Bocage 1944? - Page 2

Blackcloud6 · #11 December 12th, 2015, 04:52 PM

I played 28 turns of this scenario so far and what a fight.

I took my time as suggested above and developed the force to take Hill 213 but it was still ugly. By Turn 27 I have cleared Hill 213 but only have about six tanks left. The Tommies on 213 lost all their tanks but it was brutal. I had to use a lot of smoke to break into the village on the hill and send infantry forward to suck down fire from the Cromwells.

I don't think the fight for Villers Bocage is going to go too well without a tank superiority.

Griefbringer · #12 December 12th, 2015, 05:45 PM

Cromwells with 75 mm guns will have trouble penetrating the frontal armour on Tiger I (though they can do it with a lucky hit), but against side armour at close range they can be effective. And against Panzer IV they will be a threat from any direction.

What you will need to worry most about are Fireflies, since their 17 pounder gun tends to make short work of Tiger I at close range. They are best tackled with infantry; Panzerfaust teams can be quite nasty if you can get them within two hex range without being spotted (tricky if there is infantry close support).

Another practical idea when playing this scenario is to switch off the smoke dischargers on the Tigers. It is quite embarrassing to have them triggered by op-fire just when you have managed to manoeuvre your Tiger into a good spot for a shot on a lonely enemy tank.

I ended up trying this scenario today, and it is certainly exciting - especially the manoeuvring around the Hill 213 with limited forces before all the reinforcements have shown up. And the way the terrain is set, there are quite a number of different directions you can try to use for attacking the hill - this also adds to the re-play value, since you can play the scenario several times over, trying to attack from different directions.

Blackcloud6 · #13 December 13th, 2015, 06:43 PM

Here is the Turn 28 Screen shot of Hill 213. (Smoke off) Ugly.

jivemi · #14 December 13th, 2015, 08:45 PM

@Griefbringer: Thanks for the reminder about turning off smoke dischargers on Tigers. Nothing like having LOS blocked off by a panicky TC right when he's got a juicy, essentially helpless target lined up. VERY frustrating.

@Blackcloud6: Nice going so far, although as you mention taking Villers Bocage may be rather difficult due to armor depletion. Unfortunately the preponderance of objectives in and around the town pretty much forces your hand. Good luck!

Blackcloud6 · #15 December 14th, 2015, 09:39 AM

I fought to a draw on this one last night. My attacks into Villers Bocage were easily repulse. I probably did them too early and should have just pounded a certain point for a few turns before trying. I might have then been able to gain a foothold.

The Brit armor did try to counterattack Hill 213. A platoon of Cromwells came down the road next to the railroad and ran into a Tiger that was immobilized on a hedge. They tried but couldn't kill the Tiger which dispatched three of the Cromwells and sent the last one running.

I had to send my armor back to HIll 213 to fight off the counterattack. One lone Firefly came right down the road up to a Tiger and killed it. How it got surprise on the Tiger is beyond me. I had to send three tanks and infantry after him to get rid of that threat.

This is a very good scenario and teaches one to take your time and get your ducks in order before doing anything. It also showed to me how important recon is and that the game may actually be the first game to do recon forces properly. I had many of my recon units spot units but not engage enemy by using the filters to keep them from doing so. Apparently, the enemy didn't spot them thus they were able to do their job.

It is easy to move too fast in any tactical computer game because you can just click away. But this scenario showed me otherwise and that the game engine is very good because good tactics work and poor tactics don't.

DRG · #16 December 14th, 2015, 10:41 AM

Claus the designer still appears on the forums from time to time but I don't think this scenario was designed to be easy when played to conclusion and a marginal might be an exceptional result with a decisive very nearly impossible.

Historically when the Germans attacked the town they were repulsed, losing several Tigers and Panzer IV's so a draw would be the best most players could do with this ( and that would be the historical result ) but the beauty of a really good scenario is re-playability. If you get handed your butt on a plate and want to try again right away that is a great scenario and I think this one qualifies

Don

Griefbringer · #17 December 14th, 2015, 12:41 PM

Blackcloud6, I hope you enjoyed the game! It is certainly a great scenario and offers quite some challenge.

I would certainly recommend giving it another try. It is possible to take Hill 213 with pretty low tank casualties, but then you need to be cery cautious with your reconnaissance.

Taking control of the town itself is bigger challenge, and one where even the most experienced player is likely to take a lot of casualties. The close ranges involved there make the fight very deadly.