Italian Long Campaign

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Next battle was a rare Assault mission on UK.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take more screenshots in the initial phase and so I wasn't able to show the map as a whole.

The main thing to note was that it was a low-light fight at around 6 hexes. Low visibility often cedes the advantage to the attacker, especially since the AI doesn't really deploy with the assumption that it will be fighting at 6 hexes away.

I brought along 2 platoons of Engineers, 2 platoon of motor transports and 1 section of Armoured Cars.

We went in with 1st Coy along a road axis, supported by 1 platoon of Engineers and the Armoured Cars. 2nd Coy was behind 1st Coy and after the initial fight to the first objective, 2nd Coy was expected to passage of line through 1st Coy and fight to their objective located around 500-600 metres after 1st Coy's objectives.

3rd Coy had no road axis, but they were also supported by the Engineers and motor transports.

I like to move fast, so my Engineers will be mounted on the transports. I fire smoke in the 1st turn to obscure EN observation and dismount my Engineers near where I expect to breach EN minefields.

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Turn 3

This was 3rd Company sector. I dismount my Engineers in the smoke, just before the road running N-S.

The motor transports will do a ferry service of sorts and move the rest of the company to support the Engineers.

The Engineers are intended to detect any minefields, and breach them, so they will lead the company. If we push through say 10-15 hexes of EN held land without coming to mines, my Engineers no longer need to lead the company.

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Turn 5

1st Company sector. The engineers found and breached through the mine fields along the road. As they continued to push along the road, they came under fire from EN dug-in infantry.

My HMGs z-fired to suppress the EN, and I moved my armoured cars to lay down more suppressive fire before my Engineers pressed on for point blank assault.

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Turn 10

3rd Company sector. There wasn't any minefields in this sector but there were more EN infantry.

We dropped some mortars and with heavy z-fire from my HMGs, suppressed the EN before maneuvering my infantry closer to force the EN out.



Turn 15

We're approaching 3rd Company's objectives, in relative good order. Based on the EN's dispositions, we can expect an EN counter attack coming from the south later. P platoon will establish a block, while the rest of the coy continue their advance.

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Turn 10

1st Company sector. After the initial contact, it was pretty uneventful for the rest of the advance. 1st Company is now positioned to advance towards their objectives. Engineers are leading once again, with Armoured Cars and an infantry platoon in close support.



Turn 15

We've secured 1st company's objective and spread the guys out in all round security.

2nd Company starts their passage of line through 1st company towards their objectives. The Engineers continue to advance with the armoured cars in support.

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Turn 18

EN has begun their counterattack. As expected in 3rd Company, an EN platoon sized force is coming from the south. P Platoon is well-positioned and I added some artillery into the mix. The EN effort melted away after 2-3 turns.



Turn 19

1st Company sector. EN counter attack from the north. We positioned our HMGs on some high ground for suppressive fire and had 2 platoons to fight off the EN advance. The EN was unable to make any headway.



2nd Company was fast approaching their objectives, where the Engineers founds some defensive bunkers. It's important to approach a bunker from their blind side. Use smoke and terrain to mask your advance. Sometimes, if they are not pointed in the right direction, they can be ignored altogether.

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Battle Report

There wasn't any EN tanks, so their counter attack lack sufficient firepower. Pretty quick one.

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Defend Battle against UK.

The ground here looks very good. Basically, I have an entire ridgeline which can dominate any attacked moving over the open ground. The ridgeline is also large enough for me to deploy 2 companies on it.

As usual for defensive battles, I brought along the following
- 90mm ATG Platoon emplacements (Main AT asset)
- 25mm ATG Section (Secondary AT asset)
- M-13/40 Section (Mobile AT asset)
- 2x 20mm AA Sectons
- 2x ammo carriers

I also bought 50pts worth of mines. I find that the game prefers to go around high ground, rather than over it. To exploit that, I place mines along these parts.

The only area of concern is 1st Company's sector. They have no AT asset and will rely on their infantry to go close to destroy any EN tanks.

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A closer look at the various companies

1st Company

As mentioned earlier, I'm not too comfortable with how 1st Company is spread out. If the EN moves too fast, my screening platoons may just go to ground and wait for opportunities.



2nd Company

They were occupying the left wing of the ridgeline, and backed up with the 25mm ATGs. I kept them compact, and only expect the 25mm ATGs to engage fast moving lightly armoured vehicles.



3rd Company

This is literally my main battle line. The tanks upfront have license to roam and are intended to engage the EN lighter armoured stuff. The 90mm ATGs in the centre are to engage any Valentines or Matilda type of armour.

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Turns 2-5

Here we spotted the EN armoured cars and light tanks making an approach to 3rd Company. I send my tanks to intercept. I do not want my 90mm ATGs to fire off too early and give away their positions.



Elsewhere in 1st Company sector, our HMGs get busy engaging lorries. The EN seems to be making this a sizeable effort. At least 4 lorries spotted, suggesting a platoon of motor infantry. Maybe a full company coming down the road?