"From the Front..." with Yohajin

[yohajin]

10 December 00:32

Christmas is coming, and it is my hope that St. Nicholas brings me victory--if he can avoid the Jerries and their bloody Messerschmitts. Actually, I'd settle for some word from my opponent at this point. The soldiering life is not easy and involves much ennui, and so I will do my duty and wait. Still, I must admit that a letter from my family or even His Majesty would not be as welcome or comforting as would a word from my opponent.

The weather looks good and I hope it holds. The men are ready and awaiting my orders. I know every man Jack of 'em will give their all, but I think they're growing restless, so I hope my opponent makes his reply to my most recent communique with all due haste. Every day we wait, the Hun gets stronger...

Meanwhile, I'll sit back with some Scotch and a cigarette I was able to obtain from one of my American couterparts. :smoke: Their decorum may occasionally leave something to be desired, but those Yanks do make a good cigarette.

Yohajin :cool:

[yohajin]

10 December 11:28

At last I have received a communique from my opponent! I can already smell the tank fuel and gunpowder. The boys will be excited to hear the news! Perhaps relieved is a better word.

Within a few days the battle will begin. I've been fighting the battle in my mind for days, planning every move, going over the notes I took in my Sandhurst days to find some bit of tactical information that may have slipped into the quagmire that is now my mind.

God Save the King!

Yohajin :cool:

[yohajin]

10 December 23:11

I don't know when the battle will begin, but I know it'll be a struggle. My opponent is battle-hardened and will be tough to defeat. The Valentines are ready to go, but we're supposedly having trouble with the Stuarts... Damn that lend-lease equipment! We can't survive without the Americans, but I am tired of their attitude. This is no game, as thousands of years of English history can attest! Those tanks are fast but what good are they if we don't get them on point post-haste.

It appears my opponent is in no hurry to begin... so much the better. Sauce for the goose.

Every day we delay brings the Hun closer to victory, but in this battle I can wait. Victory will be, in the end, decided by He who is patient and observant. And I plan to be both patient and observant.

Yohajin :cool:

[The Purist]

Yohj,

It seems a lot of Germans are purchasing their units individually instead of using the platoon discounts. Overall, the Churchill and Grant tanks are executing great slaughter so I recommend you go this route (just my two cents, mind you). We can win this tourney if we aim for the big points,...so far our lead is slim but we are in the lead.

Ruhalooooo :horse:

[yohajin]

Scouts report that the enemy is finally taking the field! Dastardly weather and strange fortune seem to have granted my German opponent and his men a few more weeks of life, and given me time to perfect my plan.

After much forethought and deliberation with fellow officers, my final plan is this:

1x ind. Crusader III (crk)
2x ind. Stuart IV (crk)
1x plt. Crusader III (crk)
2x plt. Crusader III (vet)
5x plt. Churchill IV (reg)
1x plt. Valentine (vet)

My crack Crusaders will charge up the road and take position behind the palms in the center, with oversight on the road leading to the objective. If they move quickly enough they may be able to avoid trouble, and if the enemy permits it they will swing around the left side of the palms for a more advantageous position... That will force the enemy into a trap, so I would make my day to see that. In any case, these boys are the most likely to take casualties, but they are used to that and will do their duty for King and country.

On each extreme side, a group including a platoon of veteran Crusaders and 1 crack Stuart will rush the flanking hills for hull-down overwatch and to pick off any advancing Germans. The Stuarts have a decent long-range gun and are the fastest tank on the field. On the right this maneuver will be quick and painless. On the left things might be a bit dicey, so my veteran Valentines will move at best speed toward the middle left and work their way to the left to provide support. They'll provide assistance if the Germans push there or move up and swing around if they can. They may even have a shot at swinging around the palms to the objective area, but that may be too much to ask for.

Five platoons of regular Churchills will drive up the middle right, utilizing an echelon formation so their swing left toward the flags will be effortless, and to reduce the chance of maneuver snags. Once in position they will be arrayed in two lines of six, one line behind the other interlocking, with the extra platoon taking a more direct route (slightly more left) with a different line of sight (this group will also be able to cover the flank of the two main lines if necessary). All should hopefully be hull down, but if not, they're tough enough to take plenty of punishment. As the end of the battle draws near, they can move together to present the enemy with many tough targets and overrun the objective, with any other nearby forces doing the same when prudent. If the enemy rushes the objective, they will drive them out at close range, relying on their superior armor to keep them safe.

With this plan my forces will be able to react to just about anything my opponent may throw at us. He is unlikely to push too hard on my left because terrain is an issue, but the superb overwatch positions he may desire will be covered. Pushing on my right is possible and there are lots of divots to hide in, but facing 15 Churchills and my right overwatch would be Nazi suicide, and he'll undoubtedly observe the great columns of dust. Any center advance has the potential of taking the objectives but is unlikely to survive if I am able to maneuver my Churchills effectively--and they are the toughest tanks on the field so they should be able to get the job done despite their lesser experience.

There are some potential problems: moving the slow Churchills into position and maneuvering them en masse effectively, and rushing the speedy center cover into position without them getting pounded coming over the hill. The first flaw is, well, academic. I covered the second flaw with the single platoon of Churchills moving to the left of the main body. If necessary they can take a higher position to widen the cover on the objective area.

I suspect the battle will go smoothly, and after seven or eight minutes my opponent will be forced to do the majority of the thinking and maneuvering. If he is tentative at all it will merely allow the boys to take their positions more easily, which will sound his death knell... he will be forced to assault heavily armored tanks waiting in excellent positions. Anything that reaches the objective will be destroyed.

The boys at Sandhurst will definitely have something to talk about once the day is won. I am confident that I will achieve at least a tactical victory. How decisive it will be remains to be seen, but I suspect we will win the day with minimal losses.

God bless us on this day and grant us victory over the Hun!

Yohajin :cool:

[The Purist]

Give them hell, Yohajin. Bring us back a great victory! :salute:

Ruhaloooooo :horse:

[yohajin]

The battle was a draw, and I almost feel lucky to have achieved that... my opponent was skilled and luck was with him at some key points. There are many dead on both sides, and many grieving wives and mothers in Germany and England. :cry:

(I clicked the wrong button at the end after my final screen capture so I have no screen shots and no way to determine the enemy forces until he tells me what he did.)

I followed my plan closely enough.

Early on, the enemy sent a small contingent up my right and they devastated my flank protection. I was forced to divert Churchills from the main thrust to deal with them. On my left there was little activity, so I moved the Valentine group toward the objective. The center Crusader group rushed forward and took position. He moved a large group of tanks up the middle as well, with a Marder moving up the road.

As the battle continued, his flankers on the right were slowed but not stopped by my diverted forces. The main thrust of Churchills took position but was below strength. On my left, SP guns (most likely Marders) appeared on the far hill but were suppressed by my left flank protection. At least one was destroyed. In the center, his main force was halted by the center Crusader group, which lost two tanks.

After losing almost all of the diverted forces, his flanking maneuver was blasted to hell. I took what remained of the diverted tanks toward the objective, which was in contest. The remaining Crusaders in the center were destroyed or rendered ineffective... the one survivor fled to the back hill flag.

He had snipers on his back middle hill, which did not make themselves known until later. As I moved up the main thrust of Churchills, they opened fire. He also moved up his main body in the center. What happened next can only be described as an incredible melee. Almost every tank in the center was destroyed. I ordered the crews to flee into the palms and perhaps hold the objective if his crews tried to do the same.

In desperation I raced three Crusaders from the left toward the objective area, to take positions on the hill that were in defilade of his rear snipers so as to keep rearward enemies from moving up and perhaps get a rear shot on any remaining enemies in the center. During this maneuver I made a shocking discovery... he'd moved the Marders on my far left up to a divot which had defilade on my approach. One Crusader bogged down. Of the remaining two, one was destroyed by the hidden Marders and the other took a casualty. The shocked Crusader charged into the palms and took a firing position covering the objective. Meanwhile, his Marders tried to pursue but were engaged by my Stuart on the left and retreated. (I never saw the Marders move up. The move did not prove decisive but I don't know how I missed it. He must have moved them slowly and carefully but still I don't know how he did it.)

At the end, every tank in the center, on both sides, was destroyed save two... a Churchill that had been diverted from the main body by his flankers, and a Panzer IV that had managed to survive the pummelling. In the final turn the Panzer IV was knocked out seconds before the end--he didn't stand a chance because he was broadside to the Churchill, who owas higher up and facing him. His rear sniper group could not engage the last Churchill because of smoke from wrecked tanks.

In retrospect, I did the best I could against a commander of no small ability. Still, I could have done better. Some possibilities:

1) It might have been prudent to hold back the main thrust a few more turns before they crested the ridge near the objective. In my defense, I had not yet seen his rear snipers at this point, but I still could have waited and let him come to me (even though he knew I was there).

2) Given the unfolding of events, I think Valentines might have been a better choice than Churchills because I could have purchased 50% more and they would have been veterans. I'd have had many more guns on the field, and it'd have forced me to be more cautious.

3) The Valentine group on the left was unnecessary and was too slow to be useful by itself. It would have been well used on the right, supporting the right flank protection, which was much more important. It is likely that his flankers would not have gotten far facing twice as many guns, which would have freed up valuable forces for my main thrust.

All in all, I am eager to find out what forces my opponent brought to the field. He had many more tanks than I expected, so I would wager that he did not have very experienced crews. They served him well enough, it seems, to prevent me from claiming victory.

Yohajin :cool:

[The Purist]

Reload your last file (the game end file) and click on view map (or whatever). With the battle over you can look at all his units and he can look at all yours.

Well done, on the battle, by the way. Personally I though using Crack and veteran Stuarts and Crusaders was a bit 'iffy' but I could not tell you what to play. If it were me, except for the two troops of Crusaders (veteran at most) used to rush the objective I would have saved the points on the quality and Stuarts to up the Valentine forces. I think the core of Churchills was an excellent choice, just too many light tanks with too high of quality (just my opinion).

No fear, Yohajin, you brought home the points for the team. You are to be congratulated on a fine performance.

Please send me your final game file as well.

Ruhalooooo!!! :horse:

Edit: Wait,...your game was live (TCP/IP?) wasn't it,...I don't think you have one to send.