Sand castle KB

[tigerivan]

I used the HMMV to locate the enemy defense line.The artillery blasteda 1000m wide hole in the infantry line on the enemy left flank.The HMMV then discovered the minefield .Engineers and tanks with plow worked long to make a small hole in the minefield.Meanwhile Apache and Warhog had destroyed the armour behind the enemy left flank.As soon as the minefield was breached the 2 tankcompanies and 1 mechanizedinfantrycompany moved forwardOne tankcompany went for the enemy artillery and destroyed it.When the armour behind the enemy right flank started to withdraw the second tankcompany went after it and destroyed it.Armour and dismounted infantry then moved into objective Castle.Each time an enemy unit was encountered it was killed by artilleryfire until all enemy units were destroyed.All objectives were met.:devil: :

[kbluck]

Nice job. Sounds like it all came together for you. I'm curious about how the AI worked out, if you don't mind.

How did the "airstrike" work out for you? Did it work as expected upon the dismount of the ALO?

How were your casualties? Was the enemy artillery effective? Do you remember the end time?

Thanks,

--- Kevin

[tigerivan]

The Iraqi was more active.His armoured vehicles moved forward aftersome time in the scenario and those that survived on the right flank tried to get out later in the game.Because of the damage done to the SAM the A10 succeeded in killing a substantial number of vehicles on the iraqi left flank which aided my breaktrough.I lost 9 Abrams,5 Bradley,3 Javelin teams,5 HMMWV,6 MG teams,3 scout,1 truck,4 Apache,12 fireteams and the A10.Most of the losses occurredduring the fighting in objective castle.

[tigerivan]

The enemy artilleryfire was largely ineffective because it used up all its ammo trying to kill the HMMWV and it killed only two plus one truck.The objectives were attained around 1115

[kbluck]

Thanks for your response. I hope you don't mind my ever-more-specific questions, because you're really the first player to give any useful feedback at all on this scenario. I'd like to get some idea of what worked and what didn't.


The enemy artilleryfire was largely ineffective because it used up all its ammo trying to kill the HMMWV and it killed only two plus one truck.The objectives were attained around 1115

Yes, unfortunately, for a savvy player it is a simple matter to "spoof" the enemy artillery into chasing mobile units around the map fruitlessly.

Did the artillery hit you at all during the actual breach, and if so was it effective?

Did any artillery hit your rear areas?

I notice you lost all four Apache. What killed them and what were they doing at the time?

What detected the enemy infantry line? How close? Did anything get "ambushed"?

What assets did you use for your breach? Did you smoke up or suppress by fire while the breach was underway? Did anything try to attack you during the breach operation? If so, how did it go?

Were most of your armor (M1, M2) losses in the city? What was killing them?

Which artillery units did you spot and attack? How far away did you spot them?

Thanks,

--- Kevin

[tigerivan]

The artillery hit my rear once in the beginning killing a truck.THe first units my HMMWV located were the enemy FO which were killed by my artillery.The HMMWV went as close as possible which got 3 killed by AGL fire.The Apache were killed by SA 9.I had correctly surmised that SA7 and AT units were at the back of the infantryline and my artillery had killed many.This also helped the the A10.The enemy artillery was silent during the breach,all vehicles and infantry units in sight of the breach had been killed by artillery,Apache and A 10.I think the enemy artillery had used up its ammo during the continuous, futile attempts to kill the HMMWV.The engineers started the breach covered by smoke as long as it lasted.The tanks with plow finished the job.I never saw the enemy artillery.I didnt want to risk my Apache lokking for the artillery.I surmised were it was and started my tanks after it as soon as the breach was made.I lost a few bradleys to AGL fire outside the city.The tanks got killed by RPG in objective castle.I used my infantry and vehicles just to draw fire.My artillery killed the enemy infantry as soon as it betrayed its position.

[tigerivan]

Addition.I used the Apache one at the time to attack enemy armour after having killed a number of SAM 7.Still the Sam 9 were there and even using the APache at maximum range they still got killed but they had done teir job and killed most enemy vehicles on the enemy left flank.

[kbluck]

Thanks for the detailed comments. Very illuminating. It sounds like most stuff worked as expected, with one major exception; some enemy artillery was being held back to hammer you in the breach. Why that didn't materialize remains an open question.

Sounds like you did a good job of unhinging the enemy plan. About the only thing I would have done otherwise myself was to have infantry lead the way into CASTLE, with tanks and brads hanging well back in fire support.

Thanks again!

--- Kevin

[tigerivan]

i suppose that the artillery didnt fire because no unit was alive which could see the units that were breaching

[kbluck]

i suppose that the artillery didnt fire because no unit was alive which could see the units that were breaching

Possible. However, its very unlikely that nothing could see *any* of your units for the rest of the scenario. Did substantial artillery fire start up again after your force came through the breach and into sight of the town? There should have been at least one fresh battalion on you at that point, possibly more.

If so, you successfully masked your breach. If not, then the artillery was either out of ammo or never "turned on" in the first place by the scenario rules.

--- Kevin

[tigerivan]

It was probably out of ammo in view of the volume of fire that had been directed at the HMMWV

[Hoplite05]

I have played this scenario several times and learn from it each time. My first run was VERY sobering because I poorly coordinated my artillery and breaching- the enemy got a good look at my breach effort and blasted my breaching units. I also brought armor through too early and it got subjected to ATGM and artillery. I "won" the scenario (losing at least a dozen each dismounts and AFV) and but in the real world I would have been sacked.

Subsequently, I have used sporadic smoke and infiltrated approx 2km of the obstacle zone with light infantry, using these primarily as spotters for artillery strikes. Javelin teams pulled through these areas get some shots at vehicles.

Scouts and maybe a dismount platoon also infiltrate north and south of the expected breach to spot bad guy dismounts that have enfilade LOS to the breach area.

After sanitizing a deep bubble to the east of the area to be breached, I then continuously and completely obscure a selected breach location with smoke and usually make 2 breaches just less than a km apart while the light Coy continues to feel ahead. I feed a company equivalent of armor through the breach to overwatch, and let the smoke missions end. As the smoke drifts away, I have direct-fire superiority on the breach axis and my artillery is free to fire deep strikes at newly ID's targets.

Roll up the edges of the breach with the light infantry, smoke in front and lead east with the remaining platoon. Push through and dismount a fresh Mech Coy to lead into the town. Flank security passes to the light team, I still have a considerable reserve (even though I know it isnt happening, I ask myself, what do you do if a 30/10 force shows up from the southwest?)

Past this point, if I continue to respect the range of enemy ATGM and dont let units sit still for prolonged periods, the enemy is killed in place.

Observations
This method is SLOW. The airstrike usually comes before many of the MPSAMs have been killed and therefore the A10 strike is usually shot down, having done a light to moderate amount of destruction.

This method minimizes casualties. I have breached with losses in the breaching effort itself of one dismount and one vehicle. Losses in the prelim phase of securing the east side of the projected breach were also light. SMOKE SMOKE SMOKE, and watch your smoke inventory.

The enemy artillery eagerly searches out FIST and soft vehicles, and will shoot preferentially at them and artillery. I do not spoof the enemy artillery to expend his ammo on Hummers- this is non-real-world gamesmanship, so I got a lot of my rear area units shot at. The deep enemy artillery group that only comes online after the breach is a nasty surprise and a nice design touch.

Keeping up a continuous smoke curtain several Km long requires planning, alternation of batteries (all three are used, but only 2 at a time) and timing. Starting the obscuration too soon may leave you in the bad position of your dismounts confronting threats they cant handle, leaving you the choice of losing them or exposing your breach to observation while your indirect assets shift to fire DPICM at the threats.

I have not played this since upgrade to 1.05, but expect an even more enjoyable and challenging sim, considering my experience with the upgrade so far.

[kbluck]

I'm glad you've been enjoying this scenario. Thanks also to DeltaPooh who designed the original, which I then rejiggered as an exercise in scenario modification.

he airstrike usually comes before many of the MPSAMs have been killed and therefore the A10 strike is usually shot down

If its working correctly, keeping the "ALO" unit mounted on some vehicle should prevent the airstrike from coming in. This was an experimental bit on my part, to "call in" air support rather than the usual method of letting you drive it around the map like you're at an R/C meet. The airstrike is "called" by dismounting the ALO; it should appear a few minutes later. Is the ALO dismounted in your case? What happens if that unit stays mounted?


I'm curious how the Iraqi displacements are working out. Unfortunately, I was forced to make them "timed", which means I sort of had to by psychic and decide when you were likely to be doing what. Are the Iraqis accomplishing anything by moving around?

How are your Apaches doing? Have you found an effective mode of employment for those?

Thanks,

--- Kevin

[Hoplite05]

The airstrike comes in after a certain point in time regardless of how long I keep the ALO mounted. I really like the method of the airstrike modeling, though; the ground commander shouldnt be able to drive this around "like he's at an R/C meet". It may be that when the ALO vehicle passes a phaseline, THAT is also triggering the airstrike. If I could control the time the strike arrives, the breaching phase would be a walkover...

I use the Apaches gingerly in deep overwatch. Most of my attempts to use them prior to exploitation from the breach gets them killed. After breaching and sanitizing a large swath of the obstacle/ dismount belt I can bring them up and use them more aggressively, but cant swoop them around by any means.

The Iraqi movement can cause a change of plans on the fly, and gets away from having an absolutely static enemy deployment.

[kbluck]

The airstrike comes in after a certain point in time regardless of how long I keep the ALO mounted.

Grr... :mad: Back to the drawing board...

--- Kevin