DAR: Poland

[RERomine]

Turn 34

Looks like the enemy got one of my artillery pieces a while ago. No matter, I guess. Still holding position.

Casualties

Friendly: Zero.

Enemy: Estimated 10 casualties.

[RERomine]

Decisive Victory!!!!

Turn 35

My scouts spotted two Bofors, took out one and shot up the other. At that point, I brought to bear everything I had close. After several squads, five tanks and two armored car fired at it, I finally got it. My forces also engaged a few other enemy units seen as well.

Casualties

Friendly: Zero.

Enemy: Two 40mm Bofors destoryed and estimated 30 casualties.

Total Casualties

German

Men: 76
Artillery: 1
Soft Vehicles: 0
APCs: 0
AFVs: 3
Air Transports/Helos: 1 (one spotter plane)
Aircraft: 0

Poland

Men: 1277
Artillery: 18
Soft Vehicles: 0
APCs: 0
AFVs: 40
Air Transports/Helos: 0
Aircraft: 0

Score

Germany: 5363
GB: 491

Final Comments

I got the decisive victory out of this battle but I wasn't really happy the way it turned out. Most of the plan went as designed. I captured Hill 3, elements from Hill 1 were able to push forward as were the elements in the South Woods. The flanking maneuver around the North side of Hill 3 didn't happen, because I had to commit my reserves elsewhere. One has to be willing to just throw the plan away as soon as it becomes clear the AI won't cooperate.

There are three factors that come into play for the struggle during this battle. The first is the overall experience of my core. I started over because of the latest patch and my core was at national average experience. My units ran when under fire more readily than they did with a more experienced core. This applies to my artillery crews as well.

The second again was related to me starting over. I'm use to a rapid force capable of assault style tactics using infantry and half-tracks. My force has trucks right now and not half tracks. All I could do is run forward and drop my force off. The speed of the trucks still helped. It was better to be fighting from the tops of the hills than fighting to get up them. Starting my fighting 250m farther back could have resulted in me getting a marginal victory. It will still take time for me to upgrade my trucks to half-tracks, so I have to get use to it.

The final factor was getting use to the artillery changes. For sake of realism, my core has four FOOs. One is assigned to each company and one at battalion level. I wanted to make the most of them to minimize the impact of the artillery changes. It's difficult to say I really had a chance to adapt to the artillery changes because the AI hit my artillery with counter battery fire much earlier than it usually does. Fire adjustments may be more delayed, but not nearly as much as waiting for crews to return to their guns, if they come back at all.

Overall, I guess I shouldn't be unhappy with roughly a 15 to 1 destroy rate of enemy assets, except aircraft. Looks like the next battle will be another meeting engagement. I've added six truck mobile 81mm mortar units, eight SPAA units and two ammo trucks. Also, I upgraded five PzKw IId tanks to PzKw IVb units. Overall, getting 20% fewer repair points didn't seem to hurt.

I've attached the save just before I ended my last turn. Enjoy!

[Charles22]

Hmmm, very similar to my first Polish campaign battle, which was a meeting engagement. Visibility about 25 I think.

Losses:
Germany - men=65, and AFV's=3
Poland - men=1489, artillery=10, AFV's=40.
Score: Germany 4853, Poland 243

I will emphasize what is perhaps one key differences in our battles, and this being a meeting engagement it may not matter, and that is that you are playing with shotgun objectives. Mine is with clustered ones. One of the mods said some time ago that the AI is not programmed to defend shotgun objectives, but only clustered ones. That is why I do not play shotgun, though I liked it more, anymore. I can say in playing the Poles, I haven't really seen any difference, but it's been quite while that I've done the shotgun too.

I am also playing with the -20% repair points. It's overly generous if your battles are coming out way ahead.

[RERomine]

I think you are correct and that the objectives being scattered doesn't matter as much since it was a meeting engagement. It did seem to have a single minded fixation on capturing the forward most flags first. This resulted on large numbers of AI troops passing laterally in front of a position I had on one hill. They would return fire, but not stop and engage my position.

It makes sense that the AI defends grouped objectives better. I suspect that goes back to the original code years ago where all the objects were grouped. To be honest, I've never paid much attention to which battles seem easier, scattered or grouped objectives. Grouped are easier to plan for and attack, but scattered are more difficult to cover once you have them. The odd isolated AI units can come and pick one off easier.

[Charles22]

Yes, it's pretty funny, that it seems no matter what you do, if you flip the patty over, the other side is cooling off. Take for example the discussion we had about my very high maps. The AI did get compensated somewhat by my not attacking in the absolute best way I could, but otherwise it was obvious while my defense was tougher with that sort of map, so was his. Then again, I'm not so sure I have played a total offensive action since the grapeshot patterns were allowed. I must had played some, but the memory isn't sufficient for that far back. All I know is that I get about the same sort of defense consistently in meeting engagements.

So the same thing with your grapeshot objectives. Your attack could suffer more, at least in terms of gathering objectives, as I do recall when I played that way it seemed to be, but I don't think it's because the defense was geared for it at all, but only because I thought it was. You have a more difficult total nab of the objectives, whereas the same thing goes for the AI when attacking you.

I didn't bother to look at the enemy forces after the battle, if it would had let me, but it sure looks like you and I both destroyed the entireity of two Polish armored companies.