Road to Rimini: a comparative AAR

[jlbetin]

PREAMBLE


I had had the pleasure during this summer 2003 to play both the same scenario with my compatriot Lapalice and Master Siberian HEAT (the force be with him :D), as this was a new scenario, I have submitted the turn by turn evolution to the scenario designer Chuck.

I was playing the UK player in both case and I got the idea to realize a comparative AAR of the 2 battles.
Better than this we tried Chuck, Lapalice, Siberian HEAT and me to make a 4 voices AAR.

This AAr is multiple, you will be directed to some links where the pure battle description will be written and one where the fight comparaison will be done.

So this our work.


HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

After nearly a year of war in Italy, German forces under Field Marshall Albert Kesselring were more than holding out against the Allies. A preliminary line of fortifications in the northern Apennines, called the
Gothic Line, had been established in the summer of 1944 after the fall of
Rome. The fortifications straddled some of the most rugged terrain in Italy and if the Germans could buy enough time they might be able to hold the line indefinitely.

In August Lt. General Sir Oliver Leese, commander of the 8th British Army, proposed a plan for forcing the Gothic Line and driving into the Po Valley. His proposal, code-named 'Operation Olive', involved a one-two punch being applied to open up the German defenses. First the 8th British Army, holding the right wing of the 15th Army Group, would seize Rimini and move into the Romanga Plain. This would draw forces away from the 5th American Army on the left, freeing them to move forward toward the vital transportation hub of Bologna. If all went as planned the entire German Army in Italy would be destroyed, allowing the Western Allies to move east and beat the Red Army to the Balkans.

Field Marshall Sir Harold R.L.G Alexander, overall commander of Allied
forces in Italy, agreed to go ahead with 'Olive'. Reinforcements were
secretly moved by circuitous routes toward the Adriatic coast to prevent the Germans from catching onto the plan. By August 25th several hundred tanks, thousands of artillery pieces, and countless numbers of infantrymen were in place to begin the assault.

MAP ANALYSIS

In the attached image you will find what are the elements on the map which drive me to the final strategy described in the next post

[jlbetin]

UK General Strategy

In the attached map you will see the original plan I made to break the gothic line

Red units -> Poles
Blue units -> Canadian
White units -> Brits
Green units -> Indians
Dark Blue -> Ghurkas

Coming latter

Brown units New Zealand trrops

Poles running along the coast have role to break the lines and run as hell to rimini

Brits and Canadian must break in the middle of the gothic line and surrond remant germand troops
This was the theory, look at the reality

[jlbetin]

Here this AAR divide itself in two directions

JL BETIN UK versus SIBERIAN HEAT GERMAN

German AAR -> http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3236
UK AAR ->http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3382

As there is more maps posted on than Heat did , I took all his turn comments and add them along with the UK point of view


JLBETIN UK versus LAPALICE GERMAN
One ARR for both of us but german comments will be added turn by turn as for Siberian HEAT . Go to -> http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3384

What can you do ? Open the diferent AAR and compare the turn by turn evolution, in both fierce fights

After looking at the differnt battle AAR I invite you ,to continue on the next post to see the general trend of both battles

[jlbetin]

Trend curves

[jlbetin]

Data ahh! Data we can make them telling all and its inverse. In French we say "tout et son contraire"

Looking at curves, and avoiding trivial result, what can we say

1st) comparing loss penalty rate for both game:
we saw that the rate loss was higher for German and Allies with Heat than Lapalice. The fight was bitter. At this time I have no definite idea but probably Heat was more aggressive as German than Lapalice.

2nd) Looking at the victory level evolution:
The turning point which make the 2 games different in evolution is turn 7
before, more or less, the 2 games follow the same trend. What is the main differences.

Return to AAR and maps.

I would say that the 5 first turns run more or less the same for me as Allies player. Except the main Poles units put in reorganizing state which avoid them to join the front earlier. I followed my strategic plan and made breakthrough on weakest point of Gothic line as I was expected.
Using RWC and 3 rounds per turn I destroyed most of first lines troops. and get contact with Gothic line and took Pesaro.

But on turn 3 Lapalice took a strategical choice which has changed the the curse of the game. Read what he explained:

Because the West held against the enemy attacks and because the main Jean-Luc’s goals seemed to be my left wing I had to put Gerbigs battalions in reserve in the Western rear to the line between the FJs and the right wing, where the front made a bend and ran there from the North to the South before going again to the West. After that FJ units were redirected to the East, to build there a better defense and to relieve exhausted units there.

That decision took in itself the germ of difference of the following turns.

Look on both turn 6. Point the eastern part of maps:
With Heat all the german units are wiped out, with Lapalice some companies or btns are still there holding me, especialy the ones locking the road on the Adriatic coast. I can't ran as hell.

On turn 7:
For both, German reinforcement are coming. Both are more or less stopping me. But as Lapalice has hold me earlier I was unable to seize more points, in contrary with Heat, I was still abble to seize Catolica town.
Continuing on map analysis. Lapalice has maintained a defense line in Western part of the front longer that HEAT. This line as collapsed at the end with a loss rate exploding to 18, but it has blocked lot more Allies units. Avoinding them to reinforce the general move to the north.
For Heat on turn 7 there was no more defense line in the West my units could move freely to the north.

It is true too that I let all my planes acting in interdiction mode :D, and as Heat told "His offensive sputtered as I stacked more and more units in front of him...but due to massive interdiction effects I really had no options other than sit in place"

The final result was a draw for both games, and as Chuck told we are near the historical result, where allies were stucked on the Conca river line.



Dear Reader
:crosseye:





We invit you now, to follow the link here included to get conclusions and see the scenario designer advices http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/showthread.php?p=32447#post32447