Road to Rimini 1944- Allies Turn 6
[FONT="]TURN 5 RESULTS- GERMANY[/FONT][FONT="]
Of 80 movements on Playback, 32 were Allied Air Interdiction strikes versus German movement (2/302 Flak/76 Pz Korps evaporated), and an end of turn dose for good measure. No German attacks, just unit rotations and positioning. 17,11 reoccupied by the Germans, but 7,16 and Montecalvo (9,16) left unoccupied, so at least we’ll pick up 3VPs. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Losses going in to the turn stand at 25-0 in Allies’ favor with a Draw (-5/100).[/FONT]
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[FONT="]ROUND 1[/FONT][FONT="]
1) Usual SOP with air/arty/naval assets. AV at 14,12 by 51st RTR. Fantastic! We have a gap east on the coast. This is a crucial moment because depending on how much we can push through this gap, it may be worthwhile moving within the 5-hex radius of 8,10 and exchanging the loss of a lot of Air Support for a chance to make a dash north before German reinforcements arrive. So let’s see what we can do here before trying for any other AVs to the West, since to take any hex west of here- 6,15 excepted- will result in us approaching within the 5-hex radius. Out east of 14,12 we’ve had no luck with AVs already. [/FONT]
[FONT="]2) Given (1) the immediate goal now is to do what we can without losing much of our Air Support (all except Mustangs and Spitfires) by approaching within 5 hexes of 8,10. So, a little insight into the deviant thought processes behind a pretty critical turn:[/FONT]
[FONT="]a) [/FONT][FONT="]let’s first try and seize San Marino, both to galvanize partisans in this semi-autonomous enclave and to seize the mountain peak for observation out to 40 kilometres, weather and conditions permitting (16 hexes here). [/FONT]
[FONT="]b) [/FONT][FONT="]I jotted down all the hexes Allied Air hit with Interdiction Strikes during Playback, so out of 32 Strikes (a goodly # and liable statistically to give me a pretty good idea of German movement), the nearest movement to San Marino was 5,13 and 5,14- one hit after the other so plainly something moving along the road that got hit consecutively. So I’m reasonably optimistic I’ve a clear run, though could be wrong.[/FONT]
[FONT="]c) [/FONT][FONT="]Likewise intelligence assets on the ground in Rimini (a certain Ms. Eve N. T. Editor performing sterling duty with German rear echelon stallions using only a pillow) confirms the arrival this turn of 26th Pz Div at 18,2 plus 508th Heavy Pz (Tigers) for sure and possibly 98th Inf Div and 242nd StG Battalion, and the variable arrivals of other units Turn 7+. But otherwise intelligence closer to the front is dismal (surprising given amount of air assets sortieing about (?!)) and I can only really see units I am directly adjacent to or arty units further to the rear that fire. Hopefully a Mountain Peak bird’s-eye view will help. [/FONT]
[FONT="]d) [/FONT][FONT="]Oh well, it was a nice try but blocked at the pass- literally- by a unit in 2,11 which I would imagine has been there since last turn or so- which means I was wrong, but it’s been known to happen. Occupying 7,16 and Montecalvo takes us through the sound barrier to +1 of 100 VPs, so only 20 to go to a Marginal Victory (equivalent to 10 points changing hands, and enemy loss points will help).[/FONT]
[FONT="]e) [/FONT][FONT="]Now back east. Let’s see how far we can get without violating the ‘5-hex 8,11 Rule’. Air Support remaining would be useful but at this point and after last turn’s dismal 1 combat round performance, we really need to gain ground before German reinforcements- particularly the 26th Pz Div- roll up. [/FONT]
[FONT="]f) [/FONT][FONT="]With HQs carefully sited along the route for Traffic Control and to wave the lads on, we push the 15th Poznanski Motorized Cavalry (99% Recce) through to 14,11- Hallelujah! Nothing in the northern adjacent hexes- all 3 of them from row 14 to 16- though as usual we can’t see a yard ahead of this (everything ‘unknown’).[/FONT]
[FONT="]g) [/FONT][FONT="]Now, using Engineers, let’s put the 139th Brigade on the Foglia River south and to the east of Mondaino in the center of the line- given we’ve just broken through in a significant way north of Montecchio, this might make him wonder whether we’re next planning an assault here on his Playback, which gives him a number of options- leave line as is, reinforce or withdraw (which he recently did westwards, abandoning Montecalvo, so there is a behavioral precedent). Withdrawing, since the line is fully engaged now, will cost the Germans significantly more in MPs here as well in getting out of our ZOCs.[/FONT]
[FONT="]h) [/FONT][FONT="]Next the 15th Poznanski Motorized Cavalry continues on and heads for 14,10. Great! No enemy units in any adjacent hex, and we can see that Cattolica (‘observed’) is empty. Looks good. [/FONT]
[FONT="]i) [/FONT][FONT="]OK, the moment of truth. We’re gonna go for it and enter the 5-hex limit, so onwards to 13,10- still no sign of Germans. This means we’ll have Air Support as is for the remainder of this turn to interdict enemy reinforcements, but have much reduced AS next turn(Mustangs, Spitfires, Typhoons only). We’ll gain at least 3 towns which- with enemy armor emplaced in them- would otherwise prove crippling obstacles.[/FONT]
[FONT="]j) [/FONT][FONT="]We tried an AV against 13,12 with 51st RTR and succeeded- units went to 13,11 and the 1st Household Cavalry overran and destroyed both units (flak and infantry). This traps everything German east of Montevecchio- out of supply and with a very hard job indeed ahead of them to escape this pocket.[/FONT]
[FONT="]k) [/FONT][FONT="]We now move everything through the gap that we can, allowing us to get to and even beyond the Marano River- 4 hexes south of Rimini itself. The units this far north are recce units with some armor (51st RTR again). South we have 3 Polish Brigades (1 Armor) and 1 UK Armor Brigade in the immediate gap, with a lot of the formations ready to pour through next turn- we need to try and blow a 3-hex wide ‘corridor’ in the German line, taking 13,13 and 15,12 if possible.[/FONT]
[FONT="]l) [/FONT][FONT="]Attacks all along the line wherever I can at 100% MPs, no exceptions. We’ve now blown all our Air Support next turn by setting off the 5-hex 8,10, 4-hex Coriano and 6-hex Rimini event triggers, leaving us with only the Typhoons next turn. However the German position is extremely precarious, and is going to require a lot of movement to extricate and reposition, both existing units and arriving reinforcements, and IMO is a reasonable and logical trade-off.[/FONT]
[FONT="]m) [/FONT][FONT="]We’ve moved a fair amount of 9-hex arty- and the Adriatic Naval Flotilla- up to cover advance units on the Marano River, which means they won’t fire Round 1 this turn but will be available in the German turn for Defensive Fire Support. [/FONT]
[FONT="]n) [/FONT][FONT="]All told, a very good turn, with most movement complete before a shot’s even fired. A little disappointed that I didn’t manage overruns against any of the arty units I tried- Coriano, Morciano di Romagna and 16,10 (twice with different units!). A few movement errors and some that could have been perhaps improved on. An example would be Misano Adriatic where I had to move the Polish Cavalry unit out to get the 51st RTR past, then move it back with 0MPs, when if I’d been more careful it would have been able to dig in. To compound the error, getting 51st RTR through to 9,8 with 0MPs remaining, breaking it down into 3 and placing on TR in the hope each piece might help a number of adjacent units if they’re attacked is a totally useless gesture- with 0 MPs in the German turn they can’t move anywhere on TR anyway- it would have been better to leave the unit whole and possibly dug in in Misano Adriatic.[/FONT]
[FONT="]o) [/FONT][FONT="]Air back to Interdiction.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Results:[/FONT][FONT="] 60% of turn remaining.
1) 4,13 retreated, other hexes held, with some unit retreats. German armor and AT holds particularly well. I think I saw one Detailed Combat Report (15,12?) where a flak unit (3rd/302 Flak?) held on with just a single halftrack remaining…[/FONT]
[FONT="]2) Casualties now 28-0. 36 VPs, up from a -5VP Draw to a MV- not bad going.[/FONT]
[FONT="]ROUND 2
[/FONT][FONT="]1) Attacks all along the line wherever I can at the 60% MPs remaining level wherever possible. We need to try to arty and attrite out what remains of the Gothic Line.[/FONT]
[FONT="]2) No overruns, even with Air on Combat Support.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Results:[/FONT][FONT="] 20% of turn remaining. [/FONT]
[FONT="]1) 2,12, 3,13, 8,15, 10,14, 13,13 cleared, with some German units destroyed.[/FONT]
[FONT="]2) Casualties now 30-0.[/FONT]
[FONT="]3) Post-combat we advance into 3,13 and 13,13.[/FONT]
[FONT="]ROUND 3[/FONT]
[FONT="]1) No overruns, though we tried. Air to Interdiction.[/FONT]
[FONT="]2) Again, attacks where possible, this time a good number on IL and Attack to gain ground- at 20% movement remaining attacks can only go a maximum of 2 rounds, so it’s actually in some ways a good waypoint since you can set up ferocious A/IL assaults knowing they’ll only go 2 rounds maximum and your losses will be thereby somewhat limited. In addition, the attack from 11,12 against Morciano di Romagna goes in with only 4 of 35 MPs remaining which is only 11%, which may mean these attacks will only go one round (not sure- is it averaged or lowest?).[/FONT]
[FONT="]3) This number of attacks through a turn increases the chances of formation reorgs, which is what we want to try to inflict and avoid ourselves. To avoid I either tend to use all of one formation in attacks, while leaving others to rest, rotating them in and out of the line.[/FONT]
[FONT="]4) Much is dug in if not used, along with a good deal of arty for Defensive Fire Support, though we used some in Direct Support of assaults.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Results:[/FONT][FONT="] Turn end. [/FONT]
[FONT="]1) 6,15, 8,15, 10,12, 12,13 cleared. (Morciano di Romagna) taken- 1 German gun survived. 15,12 taken.[/FONT]
[FONT="]2) Casualties now 31-0.[/FONT]
[FONT="]3) 47 VPs now for a Significant Victory. Need to get to 61 for OV. Achievable I believe.
[/FONT]
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[FONT="]Summary: [/FONT]
[FONT="]I think the Gothic Line is pretty much history. East on the coast, there’s a pocket that’s out of supply and crippled- it shouldn’t last long and certainly not the duration. West the Line is gone already and we can forget San Marino (no VPs and Rimini is within clear sight) now and swing round and down to the coastal plain.[/FONT]
[FONT="]North on the coast we’ve a major breakthrough and have seized a number of towns that the Germans use to such defensive effect with combined arms stacks with armor/AT that burn round after round without budging. Let’s see how they like trying to take them back if they can- multiple rounds for them means multiple Air Interdiction Strikes, and even 1 round’s worth of this is crippling. So although we’ve lost almost all our air next turn, it will be around for a crucial (and probably only) chance for the Germans to get back in there. Good luck to them is what I say.[/FONT]