Omaha Sector, movement and combat.

[Dicke Bertha]

Somewhat late, and with an example made in ACOW, not TOAW3 (shouldn't be too much difference anyway) I have made a little study for discussion or study ;) whatever.

The basic difficulty in TOAW when you're on the offensive, is how to prioritise and have that inertia work your way, and smoothly too.

An example of how Omaha defenses could be tackled:
First pic is the starting positions. Omaha is a ***** :) because terrain is bad (escarpments and bocage, one hex is also urban), defenses are good (hexes are fortifications, units are dug in to fortified status), and there is defensve artillery which is hard to reach for us (one battalion is visible to the left, and I am sure the sly Germans have at least another somewhere inland behind the two centrally positioned infantry battalions). Further, we're lined up frontally so we have no flank bonuses, and we're also stacked pretty heavily in at least one hex (see the yellow light to the left of the US tank battalion).

[Dicke Bertha]

What do we want to achieve here? Obviously we want to push the defenses aside and quickly go south towards the river. An ambitious and successful T1 should see
us reach it.

What can we do? Gut feeling says frontal attacks won't achieve much other than friendly losses, round after round. We need to remedy some of the disadvantages that we suffer from: flanking, stacking, and recon in depth so as to be able to find and engage the defensive artillery - since TOAW is what it is, we can find it with troops moving out, and then engage with ships and aircraft without burning our turn.

So we move out. I move my weakest units (some of them have pretty low movement, it probably wouldn't be wrong to move those that have more MPs).
See attached picture:
Unit 1: remaining 4 of 19 MP (21 % left)
Unit 2: remaining 10 of 19 MP (52% left)
Units 3: remaining 4 of 13 MP (both battalions) (31% left)
Unit 4: remaining 9 of 16 MP (56% left)
Unit 5: remaining 5 of 12 MP (42% left)

Aha! Unit 1 has found a German artillery Bn. We've also found another German artillery Bn three hexes to the west. One, or both of these will be able to support both German infantry Bns opposite the beaches.

Units 2, 3 and four have moved into flanking positions. Of those, units 2 and 4 have roughly half their MPs left, so they can be used for attacks from half turn onwards. Units 3 when 60% of the turn has passed. It is arguable if moving units 3 into position was very clever. If we are successful in pushing the defending battalions back, that very hex would have been good to bag the Germans in, if they would have chosen to go there. We'd probably also have more chances of attacking them (MP-wise since the road is lower MP cost). No one is perfect.

OK, since we have other sectors to consider (but I won't) it is time to move around there too. I will confine myself to Omaha.

I try to make overruns where I can if they achieve some things:
- clear the roads of advance for me, push the enemy out on said roads for follow up kills (it helps to have ant secure the roadsides to make sure the enemy overrun will retreat on the road - saves you MPs),
-or sometimes indeed pushes the enemy into some godforsaken terrain where he can sit an rot
-allows me to advance into unknown territory where I have reason to believe that he has artillery that I can overrun.
Again, TOAW will allow this since it treats time like it does, so if you're using your heavies for overruns, they really like to roll over that battalion of 10,5 cm howitzers three hexes behind your beach. And that is the best use for them too, your infantry on the beaches will love you! :)

In my experience, Omaha is the hardest nut to crack. Indeed, this was the only place (apart from Carentan) where the Germans actually had deployed good infantry - the Brits and the Utah people had it easier with the stomach battalions and what have you.

Therefore, I am making a strategic or operational decision right here with the benefit of historical hindsight: Omaha gets what it wants, the others will have to cope anyway.

Thus the battleships and the airforce is going to help a lot here.

We've seen that in order to make flanking attacks, we have to wait until half the turn is spent. Thus we'll make some probes on each of the German infantry battalions with some infantry that haven't moved, helped by a lot of air and navals. I will assume that we will have four rounds in this turn. This means I will do two rounds of preparatory attacks on Omaha sector, on basically everything within five hexes from the beaches. The air and the navy will engage the two or three artillery battalions we've spotted inland.

On the third round I will hit the infantry hard with help of flanking attacks, and hopefully then I can advance and on the last fourth round of the turn push really hard for the river, and try to cut off as much as I can.

I will give more emphasis to Omaha east than Omaha west, as the roads here are more important - and can be taken too.

[Dicke Bertha]

Omaha_pre_attack1_T1:

Oh hell, before committing to attacks, I moved the rangers at Point-du-Hoc southwest: they might be able to attack the artillery Bn at the end of the turn, they only have 2 of 12 MPs left. I am assigning one US air unit to that artillery Bn. The three other German artillery battalions will be hit by each one naval and two air units, the easternmost of them with double that dose. The infantry battalions are attacked by one naval unit each, and at least one air unit. All this on limit loss. The infantry battalions are also attacked by one US infantry battalion head on, set on minimise losses, limited attack.

[Dicke Bertha]

Omaha_post_attack1_T1:
Oh! Two of the artillery Bns actually lost some guns! One of the infantry battalions retreated! We had low losses. All air units still responsive and ready for action. Moving up where I can. 80% of the turn left.

[Dicke Bertha]

Omaha_movement2_T1.jpg
I am splitting one US infantry battalion (the one previously easternmost) and moving him to block entry into the bocage for the split-down retreated companies of the German infantry battalion. That way when I try to overrun it (next), it will retreat along the road onto the German artillery Bn. This will actually also increase the possibility to retreat the artillery before combat (why I don't know, but overruns are contagious).

[Dicke Bertha]

Omaha_pre_attack2_T1:

I moved two battalions to the east to cover ground (important as movement in those converted hexes will be cheaper MP-wise next turn) and make any counter-attacks more difficult. I don't think the enemies I've discovered can be tackled this turn, but I also don't think the Germans will want to attack here, the navy will help me if so. I could/should have split those two battalions into four or six companies to cover more ground and create depth, but I am sloppy. :)

The highlighted hex with the tank battalion couldn't make any more overruns, nor could any other hexes be overrun. In the German hex is the German Arty Bn and two of the three overrun infantry companies, the third vaporised in the previous overun. The unit with most remaining MPs around this hex is the US tank Bn with 17 of 21 MPs left (55%). So, we won't hit that hex just yet. Another attack round of the same, air and naval bombardments on limit settings (two dots), and also limited attack on minimise losses by a US infatry Bn on the beach (as a rule of thumb, if your enemy is not showing his strength, don't overcommit or it will be bloody and can drag on). Instead use something easily taking casualties on your side, on minimise lossess so it will break off quickly..

[Dicke Bertha]

Omaha_post_attack2_T1:

Ah, the German infatry battalion retreated! Good show. Air was taking a few losses (tired pilots flying into trees) and above all I lost some ships (German artillery is good!). All German targets were taking significant losses though. 70% left (but I will assume that we are at 50% left now).

[Dicke Bertha]

Omaha_movement3_T1:
Moving up.

(dang, lost the pic somehow)

[Dicke Bertha]

Omaha pre_attack3_T1:
Assuming we have 50% left (enough for two more rounds), I am performing ground attacks everywehere that I have MPs in the > 50% left.
Where not, I keep using air and navy only. (actually I am only using a little to hit the two westernmost artillery units - I am leaving the untouched German 7-6 infantry Bn alone for now; either I will get a shot at him on my last round, or my advances and contact-hopefully-to-come will make his retreat dangerous in itself).

Where I have retreated the Germans, or they only have artillery, I use normal attacks on ignore losses if it is on an important road (I am on positive shock, so it should not burn more than 30%, and I want to advance now) or if not then normal attack limited losses. In this case only the stack with the 3-2 tank Bn is on ignore (together with two infantry Bns)

If I would have encountered new Germans, I would stick to limited attacks in order to not either take to much losses, or risk a turn burn (this is somewhat contradictory sometimes). Again, a rule-of-thimb: when in doubt overcommit: t-t-turn-burn is an effect of either side refusing to take enough damage and break off battle. I use air and navy here too, but only those in green or yellow, the rest I pull back.

Oh, I am also digging in some units that cannot advance or attack anymore due to low MP.

[Dicke Bertha]

Omaha_post_attack3_T1:
Ah the artillery west of the highlighted US inf Bn resisted, but took 50% damage. The second German inf Bn retreated and divided under the attack of the US 14-7 tank Bn. The southernmost attack saw the US tank Bn evaporate, but we took the hex.

[Dicke Bertha]

Omaha_movement4_T1:
Multiple overruns in the southern sector, many German units evaporate, the rest will be unresponsive on the German turn.

A US inf Bn manages to push the lone German arty Bn into bocage, off road. Whatever MP is left to it (it will probably be able to disengage, arty often can, provided it isn't routed, but it might not be able to escape far).

The German arty Bn just east of the German 7-6 inf Bn wouldn't be overrun, so i nthe last round we'll hit it on ignore with all we have. We want to kill it, and we want to make contact with the German infantry. Also the Rangers to the west will make an all-out attack on their arty Bn.

Damn, we'll even have some naval and air attack on that German arty Bn northwest of our US tank Bn.

Elsewhere we're spreading out and digging in.

At this point, I am setting roughly 80% of my air on interdiction. Anything that is past yellow, I put on rest.
The rest go to general CS, no dedicated attacks anymore.

Since I don't fear coastal artillery in this sector, I won't pull back my naval units, but will let the non-orange/red fire away one last terrific salvo.

[Dicke Bertha]

Omaha_post_attack4_T1:

Actually, in this case we still have 50% left of the turn, but I am calling it off, since the presupposition was that the first turn should give us four rounds. With four rounds of good combat and movement, and some luck, we should be able to feel we've accomplished more than plenty.

[Dicke Bertha]

Conclusion:

With this example I've tried to show how one can look at movement and combat, broken up in time, as the rounds system is built.

Initially I set up some goals, which I mostly managed to reach, and during the course, some of my preparations turned out to be unnecessary, but hardly wrong.

I've tried to show you how I think, when trying to crush a nut. I plan ahead, and I prioritise. The more complex the settings (and with the entire scenario to think of) you need to streamline your priorities, and indeed sometimes refrain from attackingsecondary objectives, in order to make sure the primary ones are successful.

I would want to stress the approach that I find useful: err wildly on the high stakes' side, not on the low stakes' side. Gradually you'll adjust downwards. I may cost you several games, but it will instill an offensive mindset. Do it te other way round and you'll never see your panzer armies crush the enemy and break free into his hinterland. Remember, you write the orders for ruthless attack, someone else writes the letters of condolence... :D

Furthermore, this example differs from the overall scenario only as much as I have used all US air on this sector. I think it can be rationalised.

Losses have been acceptable, and advance makes Ike jump high.

We've secured a road to the south, and hold it with strong forces, still supported by the mighty ships, and with most of our air force on interdiction, the Germans will not do movement easily.

Remember: we've gone farther through repeated rounds of combat, than we could have through utilising the full movement allowed to us on the first round. Haste does make waste.

Enjoy this and I welcome any critique and discussion!

PS. I've tried to eliminate all logical and spelling errors, but it is 33 C and I have ceased to function.

[Dicke Bertha]

Oh ****, actually I forgot to set the RAF to rest here. They have four fighter units set to CS at the start of T1. Don't know how much this has messed with my anyway unscientific confinement to Omaha, disregarding the rest.

Sorry, again it is the heat. :clown: