Valkyri
03 Mar 04, 21:25
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Tournament…
… I drew Mister Steel Panthers as my opponent!!
Preliminary Data
Slovaks:
1 HQ Section
2 Snipers
Turn 2 Reinforcements:
2 MGs
2 Slovak Rifle Squads
Turn 3 Reinforcements:
2 Slovak Rifle Squads
Map:
A custom map from a WarfareHQ contest, that is very small, approximately 1500 meters by 1500 meters. The Slovaks defend the south side of a bridge across a river, which also happens to contain almost all of the 21 objective flags. The south side of the river is a village, so cover will be plentiful, while the obvious crossing point, the bridge, will leave my opponent vulnerable to sweeping MG fire. The far shore contains only 1 objective flag, so getting across the river is essential to the Polish player.
Pre-Game Planning
Slovak: I’ve drawn Wild Bill Wilder as my opponent in this battle. Just a wee bit un-nerving to face one of the game designers, but as I’ve learned from my experience working at The Blitz, most of the people in this community are normal folks, not unapproachable Demi-Gods. Although it’s still un-nerving to see your opponents picture come up on the game screen every time you go to play a turn :surprise: .
Anyway, the tactical advantage would seem to be mine with the Polish forces having to cross open ground, and then a 250 meter long exposed bridge, to get at my VP flags, and the flags are the key to victory. However I have no idea what amount of force the Poles can bring to bear, while my Slovak forces are decidedly sparse. Two snipers on the far shore, and the main position defended by 5 squads (if you count the HQ) and 2 MGs, is not a lot to work with. Some of the units are even green units, which makes them very fragile. My strategy will be to delay, delay, and delay. Spread my fire around and pin his units as much as possible, deny them full movement points. If I can keep them from crossing in force I should be able to win.
Turn 1
Slovak: I go first and no units are visible, so I reposition one of my 2 snipers to be closer to the bridge. The snipers will have to be sacrificed in the long term, but I will keep their range short, and use their available shots to slow down the Poles on my turn. If they can avoid being spotted so much the better. I am used to playing SPH2H with 60% spotting so I will have to be careful not to give my firing positions away too quickly. My HQ squad I move to cover the south end of the bridge.
Turn 2
Slovak: I see 3 Polish squads coming down the roads form the north, and one from the east along the road running parallel to the canal. Using my snipers to good effect I pin 2 of the 3 northern squads, inflicting 2 casualties in the process. I drop my firing ranges back down to 300 meters on both snipers. I position my reinforcements (2 squads and 2 MGs) in houses and orchards on the south shore and set the open fire ranges to cover the hexes immediately in front of the north end of the bridge. If I can pin them there on the Polish turn perhaps I can rake them on the Slovak turn and really put them in a bad way. I hope the Poles don’t have artillery.
Turn 3
Slovak: Bill has not spotted my snipers yet, but I moved my HQ section and an infantry squad on the south bank too far and they were spotted. The HQ was fired upon lightly, but the infantry squad, which is Green, was routed and would not rally. My most important unit, the MGs, were not spotted, and the first one opens up on the Poles on the far shore at 1000 meters and kills 3 in one shot, pinning an entire platoon. The Snipers have one shot each, and one pins an infantry squad, while another kills a member of a mortar crew. So far it looks like I may be up against an entire infantry company, which is very bad news for me. I move my troops forward a little more cautiously this turn, slow and steady now. My plan needs to hinge on killing them on the bridge. The mortars will make this dicey. Thankfully they are the 46mm mortars that do not fire smoke I believe. I hope there’s nothing larger!! Pucker factor getting high.
Turn 4
Slovak: Yes, looks for certain like a full Polish Infantry Company. That should be a total of 9 squads, plus 3 HQ squads, plus 2 MGs and 2 small mortars. Maybe it’s 3 separate platoons since I’ve seen no sign of MGs, and I’ve counted 1 mortar for each infantry platoon. No matter how you count it, it’s more than I have. My lead sniper is spotted and routed by Bill. It fails its rally roll and will likely die next turn. My other sniper is unspotted. The infantry squad on the south bank that routed last turn has rallied. Pretty important rally actually since a full route would push it off map in a hurry. Slowly moving squads into position where they can inflict damage as the Poles approach the bridge. One of my MGs opens fire on another mortar squad, getting a kill or two, and most importantly, pinning the unit. I have taken no losses so far, and inflicted a few casualties each turn, but again, it’s going to come down to the flags.
Turn 5
Slovak: Bill has spotted and killed the second sniper. The one he routed last turn is fleeing towards the bridge, but cannot be rallied. I now see two MGs in the Polish side of the river, so a full company it must be. I feel very outnumbered, but from Bill’s emails I can sense he feels up against a tough assignment. I move my infantry squads 50 meters further into position, crawling to avoid being spotted. My one well place MG unit fires across the river and registers another 2 kills on the Poles. I am holding the fire of all of my infantry squads so that they will have the most effect. The worst thing I could do is giving my positions away and have him spray me down with 46mm and MG fire. It would then be a simple matter to get across and mop up. The next few turns should be critical. He needs to be across the bridge by turn 8, 9 the latest to secure all of the flags.
Turn 6
Slovak: Bill killed the sniper that was routed, on his half of the turn. He used his 46mm mortars and one of his MGs to area fire on some houses on the south bank, but mercifully he has not fired on the correct houses. His troops are rushing for the bridge and my MG took some nice bites out of his fast moving squads. I used some fire from both MGs and 2 well positioned squads to kill 8 or 9 more Poles, pinning all visible squads and the second MG this turn. No return fire, so indications are my conservative gunfire has kept my positions from being revealed. Not that I’m nervous but I’m starting to figure out how to defend only 11 of the objectives if Bill gets across the river. Doing so would be the barest minimum needed to win, no margin for error allowed. (Post Game Edit: I realized later that a win was not a ticket to advance. Advancement would be done by ranking the score against other Defenders scores, with the top 4 scores advancing.)
Turn 7
Slovak: Bill’s lads got all bunched up on the north end of the bridge trying to rush across and taking rifle and MG fire. He took s few more casualties on his turn, and I inflict a few more on my half of the turn, but for all that I do not think I have eliminated a single unit of his. I keep spreading my fire out to keep as many of his troops routed, pinned and suppressed as possible. Three of my squads have been spotted now that he has gotten closer. One that he had suppressed on his turn would rally only back to pinned. The other 2 are visible but have not taken much fire yet. If he gets good rally rolls on his turn I could take some losses because he simply has so many more shooters than I do. The best-laid plans still come down to some luck.
Turn 8
Slovak: The pressure is mounting. Bill’s Poles are getting fixes on my Slovaks now and the return fire from the numerous Polish units is pinning my lads. One of my MG crews is routed and will not rally, and that hurts. Still, my losses are slight, and a defense is possible as long as we’re breathing. Lots of smoke that turn to screen the troops on the bridge, and I smoke up a little at the end of my turn as well, making plans to drop back into the village and defend house to house once they force the crossing. Four turns left, a long four turns.
Turn 9
Slovak: Minor disaster in the making. Bill pushed across the bridge, or tried to, but was turned back with some well-placed shots; he lost another 7 or 8 men. One of the 3 squads defending the exit from the bridge is routed and will not rally, in fact, that’s the true disaster for me, the routed MG still will not rally and will retreat off map next turn. Another rifle squad may do the same thing. In fact, I didn’t make a single rally roll and the only units with complete freedom of action are the far right MG unit, the HQ and 1 infantry squad. The HQ so far forward may be a huge mistake because of it’s value, losing it would be as bad as losing 7 or more flags, but choices are limited. Maybe next turn I can get it safely away, if I can rally some one else to the cause that is.
Turn 10
Slovak: The Minor disaster has happened. The placement of the retreat hex so close to my forces has cost me one MG, and one squad, neither of which had taken any casualties mind you, just routed out because they were low grade units. To compound the problem my HQ section took a 2-man loss on Bill’s half of the turn is down to 4 men and is pinned and cannot be pulled back to safety. The only good news is that one squad is very well placed on the hill due south of the bridge and can only be fired upon by Polish units that have actually touched the south bank of the river. That means they keep taking fire and keep getting pinned. I think Bill is going to jump off the bridge into the shallows and come upon the river bank on my blind spot and force the crossing that way. That’s something I did not figure on and with my losses to retreats I have only a squad and the other MG unit to try and cover the town with. Looks like the rest of the Poles are backed up on the bridge, behind the 2 squads I routed. Hopefully all the crowds on that narrow span will slow them down. Still not comfortable yet, although if I can keep people un routed and at least able to fire back I should be able to limit their mobility enough to defend most of the town. Two turns left. Is there any hope that this could end early?
Turn 11
Slovak: The end is near…. and the funny part is that Bill believes I have it in the bag!! My HQ section was, as I feared routed and wiped out, a major point loss. The other 2 squads defending the southern bridge exit are routed and will not rally…so his units can now exit the bridge unhindered. I have one squad in the east end of town, but foolishly I opened fire on an MG on the far shore, and now it’s pinned as well. The only unpinned unit remaining is the other MG unit in the center of town. How he goes, so will go the rest of the game. If Bill can rally forces he will grab many flags…if he can’t I have a chance of keeping him out of most of them. I fear neither of us will advance to the next round. From postings on the board it seems some Slovak forces have kept the Poles completely off their side, and some Slovaks have collapsed completely. So our 50% solution may land us both in the runner up column.
Turn 12
Slovak: The bitter end!! The Poles pushed across in force, and secured 4 of the flags on the south side, routing what little force I had left, including the MG, but not before it killed a few more Poles in payment. My three remaining units would not rally, so I could not even fire. The MG will certainly route off map as it is next to the retreat hex, and one squad may also, depends on how fast it moves. One squad, a Green one of all units, rallies back to pinned, and is deployed behind the houses immediately in front of the retreat hex. With one turn to go I do not believe Bill can grab all of the flags with just the foot troops, but he will grab more than a few I suspect. No doubt a draw in game terms, but for the Tourney it will remain to be seen if this will be a good enough defenders score to advance. Bill is a master. He persevered when it looked darkest and deserves a victory.
Final Score
Poland losses 57 men, but posts 517 points
Slovaks lose 31 men, and post 264 points
It appears that Wild Bill Wilder was too much for me. I have the moral victory of having held him a long time and inflicted nearly twice the casualties on my opponent, but the loss of the HQ section, because of it’s value, was the game breaker in my opinion. Unfortunately for me I had no choice but to expose them to fire. The constant drain of combat units routing off the board to the “oh so close” retreat hex made every man that could wield a weapon available for front line duty. I wish Bill the best of luck in his next fight, and hearty congratulations to Double D on a fine Tournament.
… I drew Mister Steel Panthers as my opponent!!
Preliminary Data
Slovaks:
1 HQ Section
2 Snipers
Turn 2 Reinforcements:
2 MGs
2 Slovak Rifle Squads
Turn 3 Reinforcements:
2 Slovak Rifle Squads
Map:
A custom map from a WarfareHQ contest, that is very small, approximately 1500 meters by 1500 meters. The Slovaks defend the south side of a bridge across a river, which also happens to contain almost all of the 21 objective flags. The south side of the river is a village, so cover will be plentiful, while the obvious crossing point, the bridge, will leave my opponent vulnerable to sweeping MG fire. The far shore contains only 1 objective flag, so getting across the river is essential to the Polish player.
Pre-Game Planning
Slovak: I’ve drawn Wild Bill Wilder as my opponent in this battle. Just a wee bit un-nerving to face one of the game designers, but as I’ve learned from my experience working at The Blitz, most of the people in this community are normal folks, not unapproachable Demi-Gods. Although it’s still un-nerving to see your opponents picture come up on the game screen every time you go to play a turn :surprise: .
Anyway, the tactical advantage would seem to be mine with the Polish forces having to cross open ground, and then a 250 meter long exposed bridge, to get at my VP flags, and the flags are the key to victory. However I have no idea what amount of force the Poles can bring to bear, while my Slovak forces are decidedly sparse. Two snipers on the far shore, and the main position defended by 5 squads (if you count the HQ) and 2 MGs, is not a lot to work with. Some of the units are even green units, which makes them very fragile. My strategy will be to delay, delay, and delay. Spread my fire around and pin his units as much as possible, deny them full movement points. If I can keep them from crossing in force I should be able to win.
Turn 1
Slovak: I go first and no units are visible, so I reposition one of my 2 snipers to be closer to the bridge. The snipers will have to be sacrificed in the long term, but I will keep their range short, and use their available shots to slow down the Poles on my turn. If they can avoid being spotted so much the better. I am used to playing SPH2H with 60% spotting so I will have to be careful not to give my firing positions away too quickly. My HQ squad I move to cover the south end of the bridge.
Turn 2
Slovak: I see 3 Polish squads coming down the roads form the north, and one from the east along the road running parallel to the canal. Using my snipers to good effect I pin 2 of the 3 northern squads, inflicting 2 casualties in the process. I drop my firing ranges back down to 300 meters on both snipers. I position my reinforcements (2 squads and 2 MGs) in houses and orchards on the south shore and set the open fire ranges to cover the hexes immediately in front of the north end of the bridge. If I can pin them there on the Polish turn perhaps I can rake them on the Slovak turn and really put them in a bad way. I hope the Poles don’t have artillery.
Turn 3
Slovak: Bill has not spotted my snipers yet, but I moved my HQ section and an infantry squad on the south bank too far and they were spotted. The HQ was fired upon lightly, but the infantry squad, which is Green, was routed and would not rally. My most important unit, the MGs, were not spotted, and the first one opens up on the Poles on the far shore at 1000 meters and kills 3 in one shot, pinning an entire platoon. The Snipers have one shot each, and one pins an infantry squad, while another kills a member of a mortar crew. So far it looks like I may be up against an entire infantry company, which is very bad news for me. I move my troops forward a little more cautiously this turn, slow and steady now. My plan needs to hinge on killing them on the bridge. The mortars will make this dicey. Thankfully they are the 46mm mortars that do not fire smoke I believe. I hope there’s nothing larger!! Pucker factor getting high.
Turn 4
Slovak: Yes, looks for certain like a full Polish Infantry Company. That should be a total of 9 squads, plus 3 HQ squads, plus 2 MGs and 2 small mortars. Maybe it’s 3 separate platoons since I’ve seen no sign of MGs, and I’ve counted 1 mortar for each infantry platoon. No matter how you count it, it’s more than I have. My lead sniper is spotted and routed by Bill. It fails its rally roll and will likely die next turn. My other sniper is unspotted. The infantry squad on the south bank that routed last turn has rallied. Pretty important rally actually since a full route would push it off map in a hurry. Slowly moving squads into position where they can inflict damage as the Poles approach the bridge. One of my MGs opens fire on another mortar squad, getting a kill or two, and most importantly, pinning the unit. I have taken no losses so far, and inflicted a few casualties each turn, but again, it’s going to come down to the flags.
Turn 5
Slovak: Bill has spotted and killed the second sniper. The one he routed last turn is fleeing towards the bridge, but cannot be rallied. I now see two MGs in the Polish side of the river, so a full company it must be. I feel very outnumbered, but from Bill’s emails I can sense he feels up against a tough assignment. I move my infantry squads 50 meters further into position, crawling to avoid being spotted. My one well place MG unit fires across the river and registers another 2 kills on the Poles. I am holding the fire of all of my infantry squads so that they will have the most effect. The worst thing I could do is giving my positions away and have him spray me down with 46mm and MG fire. It would then be a simple matter to get across and mop up. The next few turns should be critical. He needs to be across the bridge by turn 8, 9 the latest to secure all of the flags.
Turn 6
Slovak: Bill killed the sniper that was routed, on his half of the turn. He used his 46mm mortars and one of his MGs to area fire on some houses on the south bank, but mercifully he has not fired on the correct houses. His troops are rushing for the bridge and my MG took some nice bites out of his fast moving squads. I used some fire from both MGs and 2 well positioned squads to kill 8 or 9 more Poles, pinning all visible squads and the second MG this turn. No return fire, so indications are my conservative gunfire has kept my positions from being revealed. Not that I’m nervous but I’m starting to figure out how to defend only 11 of the objectives if Bill gets across the river. Doing so would be the barest minimum needed to win, no margin for error allowed. (Post Game Edit: I realized later that a win was not a ticket to advance. Advancement would be done by ranking the score against other Defenders scores, with the top 4 scores advancing.)
Turn 7
Slovak: Bill’s lads got all bunched up on the north end of the bridge trying to rush across and taking rifle and MG fire. He took s few more casualties on his turn, and I inflict a few more on my half of the turn, but for all that I do not think I have eliminated a single unit of his. I keep spreading my fire out to keep as many of his troops routed, pinned and suppressed as possible. Three of my squads have been spotted now that he has gotten closer. One that he had suppressed on his turn would rally only back to pinned. The other 2 are visible but have not taken much fire yet. If he gets good rally rolls on his turn I could take some losses because he simply has so many more shooters than I do. The best-laid plans still come down to some luck.
Turn 8
Slovak: The pressure is mounting. Bill’s Poles are getting fixes on my Slovaks now and the return fire from the numerous Polish units is pinning my lads. One of my MG crews is routed and will not rally, and that hurts. Still, my losses are slight, and a defense is possible as long as we’re breathing. Lots of smoke that turn to screen the troops on the bridge, and I smoke up a little at the end of my turn as well, making plans to drop back into the village and defend house to house once they force the crossing. Four turns left, a long four turns.
Turn 9
Slovak: Minor disaster in the making. Bill pushed across the bridge, or tried to, but was turned back with some well-placed shots; he lost another 7 or 8 men. One of the 3 squads defending the exit from the bridge is routed and will not rally, in fact, that’s the true disaster for me, the routed MG still will not rally and will retreat off map next turn. Another rifle squad may do the same thing. In fact, I didn’t make a single rally roll and the only units with complete freedom of action are the far right MG unit, the HQ and 1 infantry squad. The HQ so far forward may be a huge mistake because of it’s value, losing it would be as bad as losing 7 or more flags, but choices are limited. Maybe next turn I can get it safely away, if I can rally some one else to the cause that is.
Turn 10
Slovak: The Minor disaster has happened. The placement of the retreat hex so close to my forces has cost me one MG, and one squad, neither of which had taken any casualties mind you, just routed out because they were low grade units. To compound the problem my HQ section took a 2-man loss on Bill’s half of the turn is down to 4 men and is pinned and cannot be pulled back to safety. The only good news is that one squad is very well placed on the hill due south of the bridge and can only be fired upon by Polish units that have actually touched the south bank of the river. That means they keep taking fire and keep getting pinned. I think Bill is going to jump off the bridge into the shallows and come upon the river bank on my blind spot and force the crossing that way. That’s something I did not figure on and with my losses to retreats I have only a squad and the other MG unit to try and cover the town with. Looks like the rest of the Poles are backed up on the bridge, behind the 2 squads I routed. Hopefully all the crowds on that narrow span will slow them down. Still not comfortable yet, although if I can keep people un routed and at least able to fire back I should be able to limit their mobility enough to defend most of the town. Two turns left. Is there any hope that this could end early?
Turn 11
Slovak: The end is near…. and the funny part is that Bill believes I have it in the bag!! My HQ section was, as I feared routed and wiped out, a major point loss. The other 2 squads defending the southern bridge exit are routed and will not rally…so his units can now exit the bridge unhindered. I have one squad in the east end of town, but foolishly I opened fire on an MG on the far shore, and now it’s pinned as well. The only unpinned unit remaining is the other MG unit in the center of town. How he goes, so will go the rest of the game. If Bill can rally forces he will grab many flags…if he can’t I have a chance of keeping him out of most of them. I fear neither of us will advance to the next round. From postings on the board it seems some Slovak forces have kept the Poles completely off their side, and some Slovaks have collapsed completely. So our 50% solution may land us both in the runner up column.
Turn 12
Slovak: The bitter end!! The Poles pushed across in force, and secured 4 of the flags on the south side, routing what little force I had left, including the MG, but not before it killed a few more Poles in payment. My three remaining units would not rally, so I could not even fire. The MG will certainly route off map as it is next to the retreat hex, and one squad may also, depends on how fast it moves. One squad, a Green one of all units, rallies back to pinned, and is deployed behind the houses immediately in front of the retreat hex. With one turn to go I do not believe Bill can grab all of the flags with just the foot troops, but he will grab more than a few I suspect. No doubt a draw in game terms, but for the Tourney it will remain to be seen if this will be a good enough defenders score to advance. Bill is a master. He persevered when it looked darkest and deserves a victory.
Final Score
Poland losses 57 men, but posts 517 points
Slovaks lose 31 men, and post 264 points
It appears that Wild Bill Wilder was too much for me. I have the moral victory of having held him a long time and inflicted nearly twice the casualties on my opponent, but the loss of the HQ section, because of it’s value, was the game breaker in my opinion. Unfortunately for me I had no choice but to expose them to fire. The constant drain of combat units routing off the board to the “oh so close” retreat hex made every man that could wield a weapon available for front line duty. I wish Bill the best of luck in his next fight, and hearty congratulations to Double D on a fine Tournament.