Murphstein vs Drakken

[murphstein]

Opening a thread here for the game I just started against Drakken (Nick); will post the Allied Turn 1 AAR with SALs tomorrow. Goodbye, Me-109s...

Playing the Germans against Rickie, I was most concerned early on with having a significant chunk of the 71st ID or the 1st FJ trapped south of the Foglia, by an Allied end-run thru Petriano to the bridge at Montecchio. Maybe that's what my first objective should be as the Allies?

dpm

[murphstein]

My strategy is to drive straight for Rimini up the coast. I will overwhelm the Axis defenders with artillery, air and naval power before they can establish good lines in the open. I will isolate enemy units in the mountains to the west and force a battle of maneuver on the Germans as early as possible.

Our first objective is to break out our main power, Task Force 1 (TF1), into the open at Tavullia. TF1 will initially consist of all the British brigades and divisions, and any mobile Polish 2nd Corps units; any British reinforcements arriving will be sent to TF1.

A second group, Task Force 2 (TF2), will cross the Foglia at Montecchio and turn west behind the GL to cut off enemy units near Montecalvo. TF2 will initially consist of the First Canadian Corps and the 4th Indian ID; the 2nd Polish Corps will transfer to TF2 after Pesaro falls and the Foglia is crossed.

The general time-table for Operation Olive will be:

Turn 1:
- TF2 to engage forward elements of 71st ID, 1st Falls

Turn 2:
- TF1 to drive back 1st Falls S of the Foglia to Pesaro
- TF2 to cut off the 71st ID units by taking S. Angelo

Turn 3:
- TF1 to invest Pesaro and close on Foglia super-river
- TF2 to capture to Montecalvo and Montecchio bridges

Turn 4:
- TF1 to cross Foglia around (16,12), objective Tavullia
- TF2 to cross Folgia around (14,14), objective Montecchio

Turn 5:
- TF1 to continue NW, objectives Cattolica and the Conca River bridge
- TF2 to continue NW, objectives Morciano di Romagna and the Conca River

Turn 6:
- TF1 to continue NW to Riccione and the Marano River bridge
- TF2 to turn west to Croce, trying to trap 71st and 278th ID

Turn 7:
- TF1 to cross the Marano River and close on Rimini from south
- TF2 to close trap and detach a recon-in-force to San Marino

Turn 8:
- TF1 to cross Ausa River and isolate defenders in Rimini
- TF2, less detachments in south, to close on Marecchia River

Turn 9-10:
- TF1 to capture Rimini and hold off German reinforcements arriving
- TF2 to go over to defensive along the line of the Marecchia River

[murphstein]

Start of Turn 1a: Axis 100 VPs, 0 LP; Allies 0 VPs, 0 LP; -100/100, OD

My plans for this turn are:

- take out the LW fighters and bombers
- engage the first line of defenders around Saltara
- execute DA arty attacks first, then LA/ML+DA, then FA/IL

We got 7 combat rounds; notable results:

Round 1:
- DA arty attacks along the line
- DAF attacks on Luftwaffe airfield (2/41)
- 90% remains

Round 2:
- DA arty attacks along the line
- DAF attacks on Luftwaffe airfield (0/42)
- 80% remains

Round 3:
- DAF on LW airfield (0/75, Me-109s evaporate)
- 70% remains

Round 4:
- LA/ML+DA on 2/211th at 18,17 (4/17)
- 60% remains

Round 5:
- LA/ML+DA on 2/4 Falls at 20,16 (1/16)
- LA/ML+DA on 1/211th at 17,18 (3/22, retreats)
- LA/ML+DA on 2/211th at 18,17 (2/28)
- 50% remains

Round 6:
- Advance into 17,18
- LA/ML+DA on 2/4 Falls at 20,16 (4/21)
- LA/ML+DA on 3/4 Falls at 19,17 (1/37)
- LA/ML+DA on 2/211th at 18,17 (3/27)
- 30% remains

Round 7:
- FA/IL on 2/4 Falls at 20,16 (10/12, retreats)
- FA/IL on 3/4 Falls at 19,17 (2/12)
- FA/IL on 1/191st at 13,19 (2/29, retreats)

[murphstein]

Start of Turn 2a: Axis 100 VPs, 2 LP; Allies 0 VPs, 0 LP; -98/100, OD

In the Allied half of Turn 2:

Tons of reinforcements arrived. Much of the Polish 2nd Corps remains fixed.

The Axis have established a forward defense with undivided btln-sized units, some dug-in, some not. There are 6 Falls btlns visible on his left in the hills east of Saltara, plus the 76th Corps StuG Bde. There are 8 inf/fus btlns from the 71st ID visible on his right in the hills south of Petriano, plus 1 PzJg and 2 Pioneer btlns.

This means he cannot cover the front in any depth, so punch a hole in his line will get us into his rear areas immediately. His positioning has made our path north thru Fano on the coast more attractive; presumably his missing 3 btlns of Falls are in line there, with AT, AA and arty support, but those can be overwhelmed. I assume the 278th ID is holding the GL from the west end to Montecalvo, or forward of that (Urbino?). I need to confirm these guesses with recce, particularly whether he has a gap in his line at the boundary of the 278th and 71st IDs, around Foglia Ford.

My plans for this turn are:

- send high-recce-value units to explore around Fano and "Foglia Ford"
- keep his line engaged E and W of Saltara with the TF2 (Canadians)
- flush out his supporting arty and attack w/ counter-battery, air and naval fire
- use the heavy bombers to take out the bridge at Montecchio to cut supply/retreat
- launch a feint++ with TF2 (Indians) thru Urbino on the road toward Montecalvo
- launch TF1 (British) main effort thru Fano on the coastal plain toward Pesaro
- block lines of supply and retreat for 71st ID and 1st Falls units S of the Foglia.

Comments, questions or suggestions, anyone? Start-of-turn SAL attached.

[murphstein]

Surprise, surprise...

Ran the 4th Indian ID recce unit up to Montecalvo and took the Foglia bridge there, just to make contact with the GL defenders on the west. Found the 278th Fus still lurking in the hills to the west of the 71st ID, S of the Foglia. Advanced the 4th Indian ID along the road thru Urbino to create the western side of the box I hope to trap the 71st ID and 1st Falls in.

More important, the Polish recce unit found no defenders on the road from Fano to Pesaro, just the 1st Falls HQ and some arty. So I ran a British tank bde and 2 bdes of Polish infantry up the road to Pesaro, then westward to widen the corriidor, getting RBCs on rear-area units and reaching the Foglia loop at 19,13. This establishes the eastern side of the coffin for the 1st Falls and 71st ID, if they stay S of the Folgia. I also flanked and rolled up 1st Falls line a bit, fracturing many of their units and pushing them into the hills and toward San Angelo.

The Allies got in 5 combat rounds this turn; highlights were as follows:

DA = direct arty; LA/ML = limited attack at minimize losses by one btln; (X/Y, note) are loss percentages for Allies/Axis with any retreats or evaps noted.

Round 1:
- DA/IL on 278th Fus at 10,19 (0/5) (yes, DA on IL burns 3 rounds)
- LA/ML+DA on 2/211th inf and 1/3rd Falls at 18,17 (8/14)
- LA/ML+DA on 1/4th Falls at 19,17 (5/21, retreats)
- RAF on LW airfield (0/25, probably 1 out of 4 planes)
- RAF on bridge at 14,14 (0)
- 70% remains

Round 2:
- LA/ML+DA on 71st PzJg, Pion at 13,18 (1/6)
- LA/ML+DA on 3/3rd Falls at 21,15 (0/15, retreats)
- LA/ML+DA on 2/211th Inf and 1/3rd Falls at 18,17 (1/35, inf evap, para retreats)
- RAF on bridge at 14,14 (0)
- 60% remains

Round 3:
- DA/ML on arty in 15,16 (0/16)
- DA/ML on arty in 15,17 (0/10)
- LA/ML+DA on 1/3rd Falls, 171 FR, 76PK Pion (1/18, all retreat)
- LA/ML+DA on 71st PzJg, Pion at 13,18 (3/10)
- RAF on LW airfield (0/33, probably 1 out of 3 planes)
- RAF on bridge at 14,14 (0)
- 50% remains

Round 4:
- LA/ML+DA on 278 Fus at 10,19 (2/7)
- LA/ML+DA on 1/3rd Falls, 914 StuG at (1/16, Falls fractures, all retreat)
- LA/ML+DA on 71st PzJg, Pion at 13,18 (2/14)
- DAF on bridge at 14,14 (0)
- 30% remains

Round 5:
- LA/IL on Falls HQ, arty, mortar, PzJg at 19,14 (0/7, all retreat)
- LA/IL on 2/1st Falls and Falls Flak at 19,11 (7/3)
- FA/IL on 3/3rd, 2/4th Falls and 914 StuG at 20,14 (0/16, all retreat)
- FA/IL on 2/3rd, 1/4th, 3/4th and 3/1st Falls at 19,16 (1/17, all retreat)
- 0% remains

Status by objectives:

Captured Urbino, Saltara and Fano;
Control the roads north from Urbino to Montecalvo and from Fano to Pesaro;
Badly damaged the 1st Falls Div and pushed them west into the hills;
Got units up to the lower Foglia super-river hexes for eventual crossing;
Have isolated the defenders in Pesaro with no chance of self-rescue;

Did NOT knock out the bridge at Montechhio
Did NOT advance to San Angelo or the Montecchio bridge

Left (almost) all units dug in and ready for counter-attacks, arty dug in and ready to support, RAF on interdiction, some engrs repairing Metauro bridges until needed for crossing the Foglia.

Overall, TF1 is ahead of schedule, TF2 is behind but can still catch up.

End of Turn 2a: Axis 91 VPs, 7 LP; Allies 9 VPs, 5 LP; -80/100, OD

[rasmus]

Good work. Your plan seems to be unfolding brilliantly.

[rasmus]

An airstrike on the bridge between S. Angelo and Montecchio could hinder his withdrawal. It is not a given thing (35% chance)but could be worth it.

[murphstein]

An airstrike on the bridge between S. Angelo and Montecchio could hinder his withdrawal. It is not a given thing (35% chance)but could be worth it.

Yep, that's what I figured. I hit it with all my bombers and a couple of F/Bs every round in Turn 2, with no success. It's hex 14,14 in the combat results listed above for the RAF.

He's got 3 pioneer btlns forward (1Falls, 71ID, 76PK), but they will get special arty attention in Turn 3, and are all currently engaged on the front line. IIRC, there's another pioneer btln with the 278ID, and one arriving in Turn 4 or 5 w/ the 26Pzr; I have hopes of pinning him against the super-river and destroying him in detail as he runs out of supplies, if I can take that bridge out and keep his engineers from opening up another escape route.

Plus, with all those units S of the Foglia, he can't have much on the other side to protect the GL, except the 278ID out west; once we cross the river west of Pesaro and have Tavullia, I plan to turn the Poles west to support the Canadians; they can take Montecchio from the rear, if necessary.

[Heldenkaiser]

I never once managed to knock out a bridge in my 2WIN game in the 2006 workshop, regardless of how hard and often I tried. I take everyone's word for it that it is possible to destroy a bridge by airpower, but I haven't seen it yet. :shy:

[Veers]

I never once managed to knock out a bridge in my 2WIN game in the 2006 workshop, regardless of how hard and often I tried. I take everyone's word for it that it is possible to destroy a bridge by airpower, but I haven't seen it yet. :shy:

Dpends on the scenario map/time scale. In Europe Aflame, for example, bridges are blown up like they are...umm...easily blown up? :D

[murphstein]

Start of Turn 3a: Axis 91 VPs, 11 LP; Allies 9 VPs, 0 LP; -71/100, OD

Our interdiction level is 60%
2 bomber units have been withdrawn
Polish 2nd Armor Bde becomes available

Drakken continues to defend forward (S of the Foglia), rather than retreating behind the river. His 1st Falls are flanked, but don't seem to know it yet. At the very end of the FJ line, against the river, is the weak point, which I'll hit.

My plans for this turn are:

- send high-recce-value units to find west ends of 71st and 278th ID lines; it looks like there might be a gap between the 278th and 71st, and between the 278th and the west edge of the map.

- push the 71st ID and 1st FJ line from the south with TF2 (Canadians), and if possible, put some armor on the road to San Angelo and the Montecchio bridge.

- punch a hole in the 1st Falls line at the river and roll them up into the hills with TF1 (Poles and Brits), to get access to our crossing points at 16,12 and 17,12.

- continue pushing TF2 (Indians) toward Montecalvo, threaten the gap between the 278th and 71st IDs if there is one, and isolate the 278th Fus.

- hit all Axis Pioneer units hard, to reduce his ability to escape over the river except at the Montecchio bridge.

Start of Turn 3 attached.

[murphstein]

The Allies got in 2 combat rounds this turn; highlights were:

Round 1:
- Found undefended areas on both ends of 278th ID line; they seem stacked around Montecalvo
- Got an RBC on his stack of rear-area Falls defenders holding the end of his line at 18,13
- Blasted the next stack south with combined-arms full-on attack; units retreated *south*
- Pushed 71st ID line back, killed some Pioneers, and advanced up the road to San Angelo
- Drove back the 278th Fus unit with a LA/ML+DA attack and isolated them for later mop-up
- Pushed up the road to Petriano one hex, splintering the Pioneers and retreating the PzJg

Round 2:
- Evaporated isolated remnants of 1st Falls btlns and 914 StuG; clears the Pesaro plain
- Evaporated isolated remnants of 1st Falls HQs, arty, AT; clears out river crossing point
- Hit the assorted defenders of San Angelo with TF2 armor; now threatening San Angelo
- Took an unoccupied VP hex on the western GL with a recce unit; this should worry him

End of Turn 3a: Axis 90 VPs, 18 LP; Allies 10 VPs, 2 LP; -64/100, OD

End-of-turn SAL attached.

[murphstein]

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/showpost.php?p=919249&postcount=31

Based on his untenable position, we're ending this game; Nick, I believe, will be playing R2R again vs General Staff.

[Veers]

http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/showpost.php?p=919249&postcount=31

Based on his untenable position, we're ending this game; Nick, I believe, will be playing R2R again vs General Staff.

Good luck with your next game, eh? :D