StuGs might have been more realistic support for infantry, but the "AI Heavy Tank" setting tossed realistic opposition out the window.
This is where I have to disagree. The north africa theatre was largely a desert war, static infantry was pretty much pointless. Thus the ratio of armor to infantry was dramatically different than in other theatres. In meeting engagements it was practically inverted. In the open with good visibility, infantry (in WWII especially) was just cannon fodder for tanks unless they were dug in or in fixed fortifications. Many times those were rendered useless just because Rommel would bypass them and cut them off from resupply, similar to the US 'island hopping' strategy in the Pacific.
My comment was more related to the general intent of the StuGs than anything. The preferred support for an infantry battalion would be StuGs as opposed to Tiger tanks. The infantry I used were mechanized, so they weren't a bad fit for North Aftrica.
Repair, resupply, and reorganization: Replacement vehicles finally arrive, all panzer platoon leaders (excepting platoon D) now have PzKw IIIL model panzers and the /1 panzers are all PzKw IIIj/1's giving two panzers in each of the main panzer platoons with the 50L60 long barrel 5cm guns (and incidently, smoke dischargers).
Situation: For nearly two weeks, Rommel's forces have been trapped in "the Cauldron" between an extensive minefield and stiff British resistance. A few days ago a corridor was opened for resupply, splitting the Allied front in half. Early in the afternoon, Rommel issues orders to resume the attack. KG Krafft's operational area is the "Knightsbridge box", a generally open sandy region with numerous hills topped by rocky outcroppings. Numerous sand dunes are present however there are also a few windswept areas of packed earth as well as an east/west road running through the area about three quarters a kilometer from the southern edge of the area. [Assault mission, visibility 57, length 47, standard victory hexes, 100x100 map size]
Orders: Launch an assault against the "Knightsbridge box", destroy the enemy defenders and sieze control of the area. Attached to KG Krafft for the duration of the operation is the II battalion of the 104th Panzergrenadier Regiment. Primary artillery support will be provided by the I battalion of the 33rd Artillery Regiment (10.5cm) with Korps providing one captured 25pdr battery for counterbattery and smoke only (limited ammo). Luftwaffe is able to provide four Bf 109E-7's and four Bf110E-2's for tactical airstrikes.
Battle Plan: The initial axis of attack is west to east one kilometer north of the southern edge of the area. The panzergrenadier battalion will lead the advance two up with the third company held in ready reserve. The panzer company will follow and provide direct fire support. Upon reaching the southernmost objective area, the axis of attack will change becoming south to north towards the center of the northern objective areas.
Execution: KG Krafft kicked off the assault with artillery strikes on likely AAA positions followed by an all out airstrike of eight planes. The airstrike resulted in one Grant tank destroyed and a small number of infantry units destroyed, decimated, and/or routed. British also fired interdictory missions from four 25pdr troops but with no casualties resulting.
Artillery and airstrikes continue to pound the British defenses as KG Kraft advances. At the 15 minute mark, Oberstlt Krafft gives the wind up order and the mechanized and motorized portions of the kampfgruppe prepare to move out. On the next pass of the Luftwaffe one Bf109 strays too far north and is nearly shot down by Bofors 40mm AAA fire, the pilot coaxes the badly damaged airplane towards the nearest friendly airbase. The sIG33's, having shifted firing positions, are given a new mission to bombard infantry positions spotted by the Luftwaffe pilots.
The Luftwaffe, as usual, refuse to follow ground guidance and intent on avenging their crippled comrade, find two of the AAA positions, destroying one of the Bofors and damaging the other. The previous fire mission for the sIG33's is cancelled and they are given a new one to knock out the remaining AAA position. Enemy artillery fire comes uncomfortably close to KG Krafft's SdKfz 10/4's and, while undamaged, they are forced to reposition.
Platoon T of S company is fired upon by a dugin infantry squad. A torrent of long range machinegun and 5cm cannon fire together with fire from the nearby platoon U of S company quickly suppress the enemy unit. Mortar fire is plotted just in case and the 10.5cm batteries of the supporting artillery battalion are retasked to fire smoke to mask off the enemy front line from rearward support elements. Within minutes the solitary British infantry squad near the road is routed.
Another airstrike, this time a Bf109 and a Bf110 are damaged but the second known AAA position is knocked out of commission. A second infantry squad is encountered, about 250 meters east of the first one, and yet another fires but remains unspotted. The lead British squad has been eliminated and the second routed as the advance continues. The sIG33's are being reloaded so the 8cm mortars are given instructions to shift fire towards the second position further east. A smoke mission is called on the secondary obscuration targets about 500 meters east of the first obscuration targets.
Two more squads are spotted as the second of the first two encountered routs. Both are in reverse slope positions that render them immune to long range direct fire except from very narrow angles. Fortunately a few machineguns of the panzergrenadier battalion found themselves in one of those narrow arcs. Given the restricted vision into the surrounding area, forward observers were having a tough time getting the mortars to shift fire onto those new targets so the sIG33's, despite not having completed reload, were once again given the mission.
Mines were spotted on the road and just as the pioniers attached to the panzergrenadier battalion arrived to remove them, enemy artillery began falling. Fortunately the enemy spread out its fire missions to a number of other spots as well, only one of which resulted in any damage (a disabled truck). Still the enemy artillery failed to stop the advance, supported by the panzer company, the lead elements of the panzergrenadier battalion overran the British platoon protecting the road. As the engineers cleared the road of mines, the advance continues and artillery fire is called in on suspected enemy positions near the southern objective area.
Just as the advance is starting to pick up speed, another, much more extensive, minefield is detected (in one case stumbled upon). The mechanized pionier platoon is ordered forward just in case the minefield proves deeper than anticipated. Time is not yet a factor, but at nearly an hour and a half into the battle, the deadline is two and a half hours away and the plan doesn't allow for too much wasted time. Of course, the British pick that moment to begin raining artillery down on the troops near the road and the minefield.
Oberstlt Krafft curses the designer of the Knightsbridge box minefields, just when you think you've penetrated them, you run into another batch. Time is beginning to become a factor as the 10.5cm batteries are running low on ammo and most of the Luftwaffe aircraft have returned to base either out of ammo or too damaged to risk continuing. Two hours in to the battle, KG Krafft is still 500 meters short of the first phase objective. Enemy artillery continues to play a minor role in the delay, but of far more importance are the multilayered and random minefields being encountered.
Using long range machinegun fire to suppress squads and smoke to separate them from their support, the panzergrenadier battalion closes in towards the first objective area, overrunning two more British infantry squads on their approach. A sniper opens up on the advancing panzergrenadiers but liberal spraying of machinegun fire in the sniper's vicinity soon flushed him out and direct fire from a 5cm mortar battery finished him off.
While 25 pounder troops unleash shells on the reargaurd of the advance causing some halts and rerouting of traffic, the British have a colossal turn of bad luck when they launch a counterattack right in to the teeth of the advance. A new, never before encountered, size of ATG has fired upon one of our panzers, fortunately it missed. It appears about the same size as our 50L60 PaK 5, perhaps a bit larger, this does not bode well. The 10.5cm batteries report HE ammo nearly exhausted and no more smoke shells available. The sIG33's still have over 50% remaining after last resupply, the 8cm mortars have been fully restocked, and the 7.5cm IGs are currently being resupplied.
A pair of Honey tanks launched a brief counter attack from the north, they managed to destroy one halftrack before being destroyed. A troop of Grant tanks with accompanying infantry has been spotted in the north, it is headed west, presumeably to attack our rear area. Of course, there's nothing there to be attacked. A Bofors AAA position in the north has been destroyed and the only spotted 6pdr ATG has been damaged, it is also under mortar bombardment.
The southern objective area has been secured and a little over one hour remains to capture the two northern objective areas, Oberstlt Krafft orders the commitment of the reserve panzergrenadier company. Enemy artillery falls among a group of machineguns but, as they have not been moving for awhile, there were no immediate casualties. The G3 panzer was lost to 6pdr fire from an unspotted gun. A pair of Lee tanks are spotted coming down from the far north and the Grant tanks have reversed course, now heading generally in the direction of the southern objective area.
A previously unspotted Bofors 40mm gun just east of the northeastern objective causes major damage to the G4 panzer. The G1 panzer destroys the gun with its second shot. The G2 panzer is lost with all hands to a 6pdr ATG located near the northwestern objective area. The G1 panzer destroys another Grant tank and destroys another Bofors 40mm gun. The G0 panzer is heavily damaged by ATG fire and is forced to withdraw.
A 6pdr ATG located within the northeastern objective area fires upon and destroys the E3 panzer, it also heavily damages the E4 panzer which is forced to withdraw. There are three Lee tanks advancing south just west of the northeastern objective area and there are at least two squads of infantry supported by an immobilized Grant covering the northwestern objective area. Time is running out, less than an hour remains. Panzer platoon F takes the Lee tanks under fire, destroying two with the help of the command panzers and then the F3 panzer advances and kills the last Lee tank.
With half an hour remaining, the D1 panzer is brewed up by a Bofors 40mm AA-gun that was hiding in the area of the northwestern objective. From the far north, a Matilda II is spotted advancing towards the northeast objective area. A troublesome Vickers HMG squad in the north continues to catch the occasional unwary squad during movement with a burst of deadly fire. The reserve panzergrenadier company (Y) rode its Opel trucks within a few hundred meters of the northwestern objective area using smoke from nearby units to cover the path. Having disembarked, they are advancing on that objective. The northeast objective area is being secured by the KG's pionier (gep) platoon with support from panzer platoon D.
Company Y stumbled upon a group of three bunkers just south of the northwestern objective area, fortunately they were facing west and the nearest was quickly destroyed with grenade bundles. The Matilda II, hit with a blizzard of 5cm AP rounds, popped smoke. A few minutes later, the Matilda emerged from the smoke screen only to find itself at short range to a half dozen 5cm barrels, the surprise was short. Panzergrenadiers destroyed the bunkers near the northwest objective area while panzers and artillery supressed the Vickers machineguns. Three pillboxes were discovered northeast of the northeastern objective area and to their east, the British headquarters. Within ten minutes, the pioniers had destroyed all three pillboxes and the British headquarters surrendered to panzer platoon D. Another 6pdr ATG was discovered just west of the northwest objective area, it was destroyed by panzergrenadiers.
With ten minutes left, the northwestern and northeastern objective areas were declared secure. Oberstlt Krafft radioed in the 'all clear' message and KG Krafft went into hasty defensive positions awaiting further orders.
Reorganization: KG Krafft has undergone a radical change. Due to political backstabbing by an old nemesis Oberstlt Krafft is initially reassigned to an infantry battalion on the Eastern Front. However, this order is intercepted and changed due to friends of Krafft within the Heer, and he finds himself in Juterbog taking command of a replacement assault gun batterie and assigned to Sturmgeschutz-Abteilung 667 but detached to 1st Panzer Division, XXXIX Panzer Group, 9th Army, Army Group Center. With the assistance of Rommel's chief of staff, some of the members of his old unit who were rotating out currently (or had rotated out recently) for health reasons (Africa's climate was rather rough on germans of more nordic stock) cross trained into his new unit. In effect, his panzer company calved an assualt gun battery.
The resulting TOE with attachments from Army/Corps/Division ends up as:
* 1x SdKfz 250/12 observation vehicle
* 1x StuG IIIf/8 command vehicle
* 3x StuG platoons each with:
** 2x StuG IIIf/8
** 1x SdKfz 250/1 (halftrack plus cannister provides upgrade path from 2x StuGs to 3x Stugs)
** 1x Ammo Cannister
* 1x IG section with:
** 2x sIG Ib
** 2x SdKfz 250/6
* 1x AAA section with:
** 2x SdKfz 7/1 FlaK
* 1x Sturmpioniere platoon gepanzart with:
** 3x Sturmpioniere
** 1x SturmPio(flam)
** 1x Pionier LMG
** 5x SdKfz 251/1
* 1x mechanized scout section with:
** 2x SdKfz 250/10
** 2x Spaehtrupp
Additionally, the core may be temporarily expanded from time to time with a panzergrenadier company.
Situation: His units had barely been detrained than orders came down from XXXIX Panzer Group, KG Krafft was thrown in to replace a panzer company that was responsible for stiffening the defense of the frontlines in a lightly wooded area of broken terrain with a road intersection between a secondary road running east-west about one kilometer north of the southern edge of the area and another secondary road running north south nearly two kilometers from the western edge of the area.
Orders: Reinforce the Panzergrenadier company and hold the area against any Russian breakthrough attempts. No artillery assets other than KG Krafft itself are available. Luftwaffe will be providing intermittent overflights of the area with an observation plane. [Delay mission, visibility 22, length 38, standard victory hexes, map size 80x80]
Battle Plan: The panzergrenadiers will deploy in two up formation making as much use as possible of the terrain. The heavy weapons will deploy so as to overlook the clearing containing the southern objective and the intersection. StuG platoons will deploy in concealed positions with ammo carriers 300 meters or so to the west. Platoon D will cover the north flank, platoon E will support the center, and platoon F will cover the south flank. The scout section will deploy to the far north against the possibility of an outflanking attempt there. The basic plan is, don't let the Russian infantry get into the woods containing the northern and central objective areas. If by some mischance they do, it will fall to the sturmpionieres to eject them.
Execution: All was quiet until the Storch passed overhead, then the sounds of AAA were heard, at least three guns. The pilot reported enemy armor moving west along the road in reinforced company strength, mostly T-60's and T-26's but at least one OT-34. There is a calvary screen ahead of the armor and at least a company of infantry accompanying it. A half a kilometer north of that force is another smaller one headed cross country, it looks to be a company of infantry supported by at least three T-28e M1939 tanks. Oberstlt Krafft immediately calls for interdiction fire from the sIGs upon receiving the pilot's report. The pilot ended transmission abruptly in and was last seen leaving the area trailing a bit of smoke.
In the far north, scouts report a group of three BA-10 armored cars moving west at full speed. After allowing them to approach to within a few hundred meters, the two SdKfz 250/10's of the scout section drive up out of the gully and engage, killing two of the BA-10's with only a few shots each before driving back into the gully and out of sight. A few minutes later the last of the three BA-10's is destroyed. In the south, the T-60's advance past the intersection, platoons E and F, with the aid of the batterie commander, perform popup maneuvers destroying three of the enemy tanks. Oberstlt Krafft orders platoon D to procede south along the road and reinforce platoon E.
Panzergrenadier platoon N and the machineguns of the heavy weapons platoon begin long range fire at desant teams on the road. Oberstlt Krafft calls for 8cm mortar fire to assist the sIG's in interdicting reinforcements. With platoon D arriving to reinforce, the StuG batterie quits playing hide and seek and procedes to slaughter nearly a dozen T-60's. Desant teams all along the road are in retreat or rout. Over the next few minutes the kill count climbs and includes BA-10's, T-26's, OT-34's, and T-28e's. The only warning note is the large numbers of artillery that the enemy is beginning to bring to bear.
Thus far the enemy infantry advance hasn't been too steady, most squads are routing at the near passage of a bullet. One bit of bad news though, the truck that was going to be used to haul the 8cm mortar team to a resupply point was destroyed by incoming artillery. The sIG Ib's are in the process of being resupplied, and the StuG batterie is taking advantage of a short lull in armor concentration to send one vehicle from each platoon to its resupply point.
The N1 squad of the southern platoon routed, a StuG fired a smoke round to block enemy los to them so they should rally soon. The southern 'redoubt' platoon has taken nearly all the heat so far. Relief is on the way though, platoon F is shifting positions to north of the road, this should free up D and E to engage the enemy infantry head on and the sIG's will resume firing very soon. Enemy artillery is becoming a factor, there's no safe place across the entire front, mortars, howitzers, and entire batteries firing all over.
A bit over an hour now since the first enemy units were spotted and its become an artillery slugfest on both sides. Platoon N's position in the south has really become untenable, so much incoming that they are all in rout, the only thing saving them is that all enemy in range is also routed. Resupply units have been ordered to withdraw further to the west, they are too vulnerable to artillery and too valueable to risk.
The batterie commander's StuG was the first one to suffer damage, it lost it's main gun and is being withdrawn. Platoons E and F are swapping positions so that E platoon can begin resupply. Just over an hour and a half since the beginning of the battle and although we haven't given much ground yet, one strong position has been abandoned, the sIGs are out of ammo and beginning resupply, the 8cm mortars are too low on ammo to do much than cover their own sector, and most of the StuG's have run out of HE ammo. Enemy artillery is slowing down the resupply process for the StuG's and degrading the remaining infantry position's ability to prevent the central russian infantry mob from advancing.
The only advantage to the mob advancing is that only a small repositioning is needed to bring the panzergrenadier company's machineguns to bear from the southwest. At the two hour point, the sIGs are back in business and the tide is once again ebbing. A mammoth of a tank, a KV-1 was spotted northeast of the intersection but it was too busy trying to get away to pose a threat.
The sIG storm passed once again, leaving a broken scattering of squads in the place of an advancing mob. Still, the russians continued to rally and return, and occasionally a tank or two would try its luck. Finally, a little more than three hours after the first shots were fired, the Russians called it quits.
Decisive victory, KG Krafft!
Game Notes: This terrain was perfect for this mission with the given forces, well perfect for KG Krafft, quite lousy for the Russians.
Last turn file attached, thanks for reading
Last edited by Brian61; September 19th, 2010 at 04:22 AM..
Reason: west is left
Thanks to both of you I *think* I set the number of battles to 60... but.. I might have lost my mind and set it to 80. I've forgotten! I haven't had time to do the next battle yet, hopefully before next weekend.
Thanks to both of you I *think* I set the number of battles to 60... but.. I might have lost my mind and set it to 80. I've forgotten! I haven't had time to do the next battle yet, hopefully before next weekend.
Resupply: ammo stocks only, no time for replacements or repairs.
Situation: The defeat of the Russian advance in the previous battle opens up an opportunity for KG Krafft. If the Russians are successfully attacked before they have a chance to reinforce, this area of the front might be made much more stable for the Germans. The Russians have fallen back to an area that is roughly flat but with numerous gullies and a few stands of woods. There are two roads in this area, one runs east west about a kilometer south of the northern edge, the other runs northwest/southeast leaving the area in the centers of the northern and eastern edges. the two roads intersect about one and a half kilometers from the eastern edge. To the east-southeast of the intersection is a stand of woods covering most of two objective areas. The third objective area lays in the open a kilometer and a half south and a few hundred meters east of the intersection. [Advance special mission, visibility 22, length 43, standard victory hexes, map size 80x80]
Orders: KG Krafft is to eject the Russians from the area, securing it for follow-on forces. One company of motorized panzergrenadiers is attached to KG Krafft for the duration of the operation. Corps is providing counterbattery coverage which covers the area (17cm K18 battery), this battery is *not* available for fire missions.
Battle Plan: Attack group 1 will be comprised of StuG platoon F and panzergrenadier platoon N; it will advance towards the intersection along the road, drawing the enemy's attention and pinning the northern enemy force in place. Attack group 2 will be comprised of the remainder of the force. Panzergrenadier platoon L will ride the StuGs of platoons D and E during the initial approach. Using woods and gullies for cover, AG2 will advance in the far south deep into the enemy rear areas. AG2 will delay dismounting as long as possible, preferably dismount location is in the gullies to the south and southeast of the southern objective. After dismount advance with panzergrenadiers in the lead using two up formation supported by StuGs, secure the southern objective area and then advance north taking the remaining two objective areas from the south/south-east. Sturmpioniers will be held in reserve.
Execution: Roughly twenty minutes into the operation, a Maxim HMG squad opens up on squad N2 in the north. The StuGs of platoon F move into firing positions and send the HMG squad packing, heading east in full rout. In the south, the lead spaehtrupp climbs up out of the gully and immediately spots a rifle section two hundred meters to the northeast and an AOP truck 600 meters east-northeast. The spaehtrupp freezes in position and passes word back for platoon D to advance.
Game note: this is the tricky part, the southern force cannot bypass the rifle section or AOP truck due to their positions but must not engage them until the enemy is fully occupied with the northern feint lest artillery be drawn down on the soft vehicles following in the south.
Another HMG squad opens up on squad N2 in the north but this one is hard to spot. The StuGs of platoon F advance closer to the suspected firing position and squad N2 draws fire from the HMG once more. StuG F1 spots the HMG and opens fire, joined shortly by F0, they manage to pin the HMG but it is located in the edge of the woods and doesn't rout easily. Squads N1 and N2 advance into the next gully taking cover from the HMG.
In the south, the StuG's advance carefully staying out of los of the spotted enemy units and a fire mission is called in to the sIGs to suppress the rifle section. With a bit of luck, it may be possible for dismounted infantry to deal with the enemy blocking the southern passage without the accompanying StuGs drawing attention to themselves. The second spaehtrupp unit quietly moves into position and spots three more rifle sections near the first.
Up north the StuG's finally machinegun the HMG into retreat and platoon N advances. In the south, the force awaits the arrival of the 15cm rounds. The enemy takes the bait and mortar fire falls near the northern StuGs, additional mortar and local artillery fire at phantom targets in the center. The first 15cm rounds fall too far south and an adjustment is quickly called in.
The remaining HMG in the north is finally put to rout, the path seems clear to the westernmost objective area. However AG1 soon discovers two rifle sections south of their position, delaying any possible move towards the objective area. One rifle section in the south is routed by 15cm fire, a followup mission is called, Oberstlt Krafft is in no hurry at the moment.
Up north, AG1 continues to exert slow steady pressure on the enemy and two rifle sections are routed. The sIG fire mission in the south is closer to being on target this time and only a small adjustment is required. After the adjusted fire arrives, the scout vehicles engage the AOP truck, destroying it with a few shots and the StuGs advance to firing positions and put the southern enemy infantry platoon in retreat. Panzergrenadier platoon L begins to advance to put the enemy to rout and all hell breaks loose. At least two more platoons in supporting positions north of the retreating platoon fire on the panzergrenadiers bringing the entire operation into jeopardy.
Platoon L pops smoke and the lead trucks of platoon M make a mad dash eastward to gain the next gully. They make it without coming under fire and a new plan is formulated on the spot, to use smoke to mask the soft vehicle's advance while the StuGs and platoon L deal with the enemy infantry. In the north, things are much smoother, AG1 is meeting very little opposition. Just when they start to relax, a 76.2mm ATG opens up and causes a bit of panic though no damage. The panzergrenadiers of AG1 begin to advance on the ATG position only to be fired upon by the first HMG that has now rallied. It is sent back into rout by a StuG and both of the northern StuGs hide in the nearest gullies.
The southern advance continues, though at substantially greater risk than planned. A hidden T-26 fires on StuG D0, it pops smoke while E1 returns fire. No damage to either D0 or the T-26, until E1 fires two more shots and destroys the T-26. The sIGs have relocated to new firing positions and are given a fire mission targeting the ATG that fired upon AG1 earlier. The northern force continues to make small advances but the StuG's are running low on HE and need to reload before pushing further.
Just past the one hour mark, Russian artillery hits far too close for comfort both in the north and south, in the north one squad is routed requiring a StuG to fire smoke rounds to mask the squad from direct enemy fire. In the south, a truck was destroyed but no other losses occurred, at least initially. After the bombardment, things quieted down for a moment. The last volley from the sIGs before relocating forced the crew of the ATG to abandon it. In the north the infantry hunkered down while the StuGs were resupplied, and in the south, the advance through the gully resumed.
As the southern force maneuvered through the gullies, largely unseen by the enemy (hopefully), enemy artillery resumed firing and this time concentrated mostly on the northern positions. No casualties resulted as the northern infantry was staying put for the moment. Continuing artillery fire makes further advance of soft vehicles, even via the gully route, inadvisable. Panzergrenadier platoon M, having reached a position 600 meters southeast of the southern objective area, spots a pair of T-26 M1939 tanks between them and the objective area. The StuGs of platoon E make short work of the northernmost tank of the pair but cannot get los to the remaining T-26.
Artillery fire continues to keep panzergrenadier platoon N pinned down in the north, however the situation is even worse for panzergrenadier platoon L in the south as continued incoming artillery causes the L3 squad to rout. Oberstlt Krafft orders the pioniers to advance using a more southerly gully, with platoon L out of the picture, the pioniers will need to take up the slack. A further bit of maneuvering allows StuG E1 to fire upon the second T-26 near the southern objective area, two shots and a shell penetrates, knocking out that obstacle.
StuG platoon F finishes resupply in the north and the advance there resumes, engaging an enemy infantry squad in the northwestern objective area. The StuGs of E platoon in the south begin their resupply as all southern StuGs have run out of HE ammo. Panzergrenadier platoon L is on the move again, squad L3 having rallied, the platoon is currently escorting the sIG Ib's eastward through the southern gully.
The southern advance seems to have caught the Russians flatfooted, enemy infantry squads are moving in all directions even when not under fire. The MG34s of the panzergrenadier company, supported by StuGs from platoon D, take advantage of this situation and procede to encourage Russian units to choose westward movement. Panzergrenadier platoon M advances by bounds towards the southern objective area.
A 76.2mm ATG just northeast of the southern objective area fires on StuG F1 but inflicts no damage. The MG34s of the panzergrenadier company engage the ATG at long range from behind, inflicting casualties among the crew and the ATG is then destroyed by a single shot of 7.5cm HE from StuG F1. Panzergrenadier platoon N advances and flushes out a 37mm AA-gun which is promptly destroyed with assistance from StuG F0.
Another pair of T-26 tanks are spotted far to the east of the southern objective, the southernmost of the pair is destroyed by fire from StuG E0 as it emerged from the gully after resupply. Two more ATGs are spotted northeast of the southern objective area when they open fire on StuG E0, which promptly pops smoke avoiding damage. With the help of panzergrenadier platoon M and the SdKfz 250/10's of the scout section, the StuGs of platoon E and section C not only put an end to the two ATGs but also destroy the remaining T-26 to their east.
The northern group continues to slowly advance on the northwestern objective area, a Russian sniper brings progress to a halt for a moment. The advancing pioniers discover a Russian AAA park and the accompanying StuGs proceeded to dismantle them with 7.5cm HE. Another T-26 was discovered nearby hiding in a gully. Pioniers, under cover of smoke, are advancing on it as StuGs maneuver for a flank shot.
One hour left to go, time is getting short but the plan has, more or less, gone unexpectedly well. The northern group is poised to seize the northwestern objective area, panzergrenadiers in the south are advancing steadily on the southern objective area with assistance from sIG Ib's and StuG's. The question of the hour is, will the northeastern objective area be too heavily defended to overrun in the time remaining?
StuG E1 is hit by a hidden ATG, the tank is destroyed but the crew survives. The pionier platoon overruns the Soviet HQ and engages with SMG fire at short range, the Soviet HQ ceases to exist. All objective areas under control except for the northeastern one, the pionier platoon will attempt to advance upon it.
The pionier platoon runs into a nest of interlocking 47mm ATG positions, though a halftrack is lost, the platoon destroys the ATGs and secures the northeastern objective area. The Russian forces made a heroic effort to regain the southern objective area, it was hard at times to pick out units which were firing from those which were just running east. Finally the combination of sIG Ib fire and the advance of panzergrenadier platoon L broke the counterattack.
Decisive victory, KG Krafft!
Game notes: this was a tough fight despite the use of gullies as 'protected' infiltration routes. The StuGs run dry on HE rounds very quickly and it can be rough to decide when to use them and when not to. Frequent resupply is necessary!
Battle #30 is coming up, its a defend battle with KG Krafft coming to the aid of an understrength Slovak battalion caught in the path of the Soviet hordes with no engineering support. (15 build points for trenches though - they did have shovels!)
I'm still figuring out a defense plan, I'm thinking of establishing a static defense with the Slovak forces (see attached picture). One company will deploy at position A the other at position B. Positions C and D will be the AT defenses with the one at C including an antitank ditch to force any vehicles to go off road. KG Krafft will enter at position E and eventually launch a counterattack along the path of the black line.
I've attached the turn 0 save file so you can see the forces available as well as terrain details. I wouldn't mind some advice on this one - it looks hairy!
Re: DAR: GE Long campaign - small core
I shouldn't post late at night! 
I haven't had time to do the next battle yet, hopefully before next weekend.
Linear Mode
