Dinant CG (Dennis Brothers)

sdennis

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Well we got together yesterday, only 3 bottles of wine (Penner Ash Williamette, Hesperian Cab, and a Pinot out of France (Mischief and Mayhem)) and he did his turn 7 and promptly rolled a 1 to end it...

I'll try to post pictures later if I get a break while working.
 

sdennis

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yes, I have a golf outing and due to retirements he has to work several doubles next weekend.
 

sdennis

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OK here is the situation at the end of the evening scenario. Not much difference from the last pictures.
I have one guy left on the wrong side of the roadblock and he is encircled by the guys below him in the rowhouse. He is massing his radios and MTRs on the hill on the right. He still has a HS and pesky CC generated 8-1 up on the cliff in the last foxhole, I can't break him and everyone I move up adjacent gets killed from below. He has a TON of firepower here. His first ACs appear in the draw as well after the long tortuous drive through the rubbled town.

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His boats are waiting for reinforcements and the stragglers are filtering through the town.

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A peek at the bridges shows a traffic jam as they wait for the slackers to build the 16T bridge. The smoke kept him from making any progress here but it did keep him alive. Another bridge was unloaded farther down the river as well. My trench 25LL on the ridge broke on its first non-qualified shot and the 37* was pinned and missed and now has to displace from the mtr again.

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And the far flank shows my 8-1, 2xhmg, 1xmmg (in the trench) trying to decide if they give better value in perhaps stopping the new bridges from going up down here (starshell dependent) or dismantling and running for the real battle? One of the hmgs broke on its first shot and is not back yet.

14203
 

Orphan76

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OK here are the at start pics didn't take them until 1/2 way through prep and the bombardment counter is still down, it didn't do much but some rubble.

In the South:
You can see the guys coming and causing a traffic jam and the original beached boats at start which I am now thinking is a mistake. First kill stack there by the bridge did nothing but he is still a threat, had 2 100mm OBA FFE on him and got 2 PTCs I think... could have made this very different here, lost radio contact once and than no results really... could have devastated this flank easily with better OBA, drift or results. I have some guys hiding from the bombardment back up the road which are now in town trying to push the first crossers back.

View attachment 12611

OK in the middle
I don't know what that 5/8 stack is in the TT row... must have put some counters down by mistake...
This was the tail of the main effort from at start. Table is not quite big enough so that two stacks on the roads are his 6 ACs "lined" up for entry.
This kill stack has been smoked once and he just keeps sliding down the river bank and has now cleared the other side effectively... I have a stack of 3 mmgs over here that can't touch him... the mortar went to smoke him on Turn 2 again and malfunctioned... that is going to hurt.

View attachment 12612

And in the North we started with this. Nothing has crossed down here and I've killed half? of the beached boats. I have 3 37* INF that can see this area.

Interesting question exhibited here. Can a unit advance into PP14 let's say and also board the beached boat all in the advance phase? Not 2 locations, only 2 MF so we've been allowing it... not sure if it's the best move but he has used it.

View attachment 12614

Summary of the first few turns... I've killed like 14 boats so far. Killing beached boats are pretty easy, hit them and they die. The 37* inf SW have killed the bulk of them I think. I don't think I affected more than 1 or 2 boats in the water. I took a lot of IFT shots, low odds to be sure, but never got even one 2 or 3 to kill anything in the water. I finally just hit a guy in the water with the 25LL that popped up on the ridge and Neil through the boat at me before I showed him it was a hull hit and put him back :)

I took a risk with one of the 25LL guns and put him in LL38 right on the edge of the river and he killed multiple beached boats and maybe one in the water... but he was finally going to be marked by the kill stack so I intensive fired at a boat I had acquired and broke it... so maybe a draw there.

The question is, is it better for the French to husband his forces or kill boats? I've clearly taken the kill boats at all costs approach and now I am going to start paying for it. I didn't get anything from the Infantry on the rivers edge really and my long range stuff is about to be played out. As Neil said will he have enough to push across this scenario? Probably I think unless my OBA can come back and do something. If my OBA had affected his two kill stacks I think it could have been a stuff job without him getting across at all really... I'd still have infantry on the edge and at some points the LV goes away and I might start affecting the boats in the water.
The LV saved at least 2 or 3 boats from at least a CR result.

Buying the OBA as the French is a risk, ties up another leader (which I am starting to need) and is fickle but could have very easily turned the tide.
What is it in the picture that you are using to store your 5/8" counters?
 

sdennis

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What is it in the picture that you are using to store your 5/8" counters?
It's a 3D Printed insert for a RAACO box. Search RAACO and/or 3D Printing and you will see lots of pictures/examples from me and others. I think I might have been the first to do it that I know of but now lots of people do it.
 

Den589

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We started the Night scenario today. Steve rolled for his reinforcements and got only a platoon of Belgian Cavalry for his trouble. I think he is planning on trading the horses to a more important group so they can be in the fight for the exit on the last CG date. He continues to be down and thinking he is in trouble. That being said, I presume he has bought the H35 tanks and their arrival will cause me some problems.

I rolled for reinforcements in my turn 1 and got the AE armored company, but they will be most of the day just travelling to the front in their halftracks. He has abandoned the front line due to my kill stacks wiping away any resistance in the front line. I'm a hex away from the roadblock in P51, hoping to clear it quickly. I also have two SR's bouncing around the roadblock necessitating him running away.
 
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After reading about this battle and looking at the terrain in 1940 and 2018, unless you happened to have a youth in some mountain training division the chances of climbing the cliff were remote. Suffice to say it didn't happen.
 

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After reading about this battle and looking at the terrain in 1940 and 2018, unless you happened to have a youth in some mountain training division the chances of climbing the cliff were remote. Suffice to say it didn't happen.
Yet climb it the Germans did. They were able to climb the cliffs in several places it was after visiting Dinant and being shown around town by a lifelong resident I asked where the Germans could have climbed the cliffs? The initial ones up the cliffs carried ropes which they dropp4d over to aid those below. In climbing up one is able to.grab hold of branches Growing from the cliff face. Not saying it’s easy. But with Erwin Rommel telling you to start climbing . . . you climb
 

Carln0130

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Yet climb it the Germans did. They were able to climb the cliffs in several places it was after visiting Dinant and being shown around town by a lifelong resident I asked where the Germans could have climbed the cliffs? The initial ones up the cliffs carried ropes which they dropp4d over to aid those below. In climbing up one is able to.grab hold of branches Growing from the cliff face. Not saying it’s easy. But with Erwin Rommel telling you to start climbing . . . you climb
Further, the Germans knew where they would be crossing. They had trained for these crossings and for scaling the obstacles. So OB's assertion is inaccurate.
 

Den589

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We have gotten to German turn 3 (so bottom of the 3rd) of the night scenario. German still waiting for the 16ton bridge to be completed so real armor can get across the river, we've got a labor counter on the last piece so anything less than a 10 should do it this turn, I have about 12 tanks idling just waiting to cross in the approach hexes.

I have a huge mass of infantry around the only roadblock as well as a 20L armored car hull-down behind the roadblock, waiting for the H35's to come up. I've got a labor counter on the roadblock to clear it as well, although getting rid of it before my armor is in the battle may be a problem for me. I've set off my 80mm OBA and caused some casualties, but just drew red in the top of the 3rd so a double red draw probably coming with my luck, the 100mm still hasn't gone off and is waiting for the tanks to approach the roadblock. I'm guessing I have 25-30 squads at the attack point with a lot of heavy weapons. Steve is trying to form a line of troops for the end game, but is worried about my massing numbers.

Steve will eventually share pictures.
 

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OK we got another turn in w/o me posting pictures so here we go. We are at the start of German T4 in the night scenario. French went first w/ the attack chit, all German reinforcements have entered and so have the French. French have brought on 3 infantry companies, 2 gun platoons, and the H35s. I think the H35s are a must buy on the second scenario. I've waited too long and might have trouble putting them to good use. They can only go 5 hexes at night...

So the only push likely to matter is along the paved road as it has been. The Germans have swarmed the roadblock and nothing but his bad rolls have kept him from clearing it. He's had 3 tries at it so far. But I can't really stop anyone trying to clear it. I've been able to firm up a bit in the woods, I've had a couple of 20 FP attacks at anyone stepping into the woods with a little bit of success. I finally cleared up the last of his climbers but his sniper killed my only leader over here which could factor in. Those 2 disrupted French guys were both 1,1 rally rolls that than followed up with 6,5 or 6,6... He got IR on my H35s making a run for the battle on the hill but didn't affect anyone. All 5 of those are in motion... The 3 tanks on the road have a decision to make assuming the roadblock doesn't go down this turn, stay there and get them as they come up or try to push them back from the RB?
FYI the roadblock is UNDER the CX HS at the point of the German spear. Every Frenchie who breaks pretty much dies... and you can just make out my heavy weapons riding their horses hell bent for leather. The Belgians arrived and promptly gave up their horses to the 9-1, hmg, mmg x 2 (one broken) who needed to get back to Wespin to hopefully put some FP on the road.

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Meanwhile back at the river... he finally finished his 16T bridge. He overstacked the entry hex with 12? vehicles? A lucky starshell could have actually allowed me to HIT something with my last 25LL way in the North. Twice I put up a random starshell trying to get lucky and rolled 2,6 for drift where a 3,6 would have lit up the bridge and allowed me maybe to end it with a few rate shots :) He got 2 MTRs up front and broke both due to ammo shortage 11 rolls...

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And the only other area of interest... he had sent a total of 2.5 squads up the cliff path in 2 turns and I was able to keep 2 squads of them there during rout and jump them with my 227 and kill them all with a 1,1 :) You can see the Belgians coming to help here under disguise below a Blue ?
He may actually be done here. He's done the math and I think any other exit BUT the main road is close to impossible he tells me. If he could have gotten a platoon or so up the path they might have been able to factor in, so the Belgians might not be needed here at all and I have 2 H35s coming here very slowly, at least on the road they can make 8 hexes per turn :)

14831
 

Carln0130

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Thank you gentlemen. The remainder of the night date will be telling. Things pick up hot and heavy once the light comes up. Question is, who will the mist help more?
 

Carln0130

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OK we got another turn in w/o me posting pictures so here we go. We are at the start of German T4 in the night scenario. French went first w/ the attack chit, all German reinforcements have entered and so have the French. French have brought on 3 infantry companies, 2 gun platoons, and the H35s. I think the H35s are a must buy on the second scenario. I've waited too long and might have trouble putting them to good use. They can only go 5 hexes at night...

So the only push likely to matter is along the paved road as it has been. The Germans have swarmed the roadblock and nothing but his bad rolls have kept him from clearing it. He's had 3 tries at it so far. But I can't really stop anyone trying to clear it. I've been able to firm up a bit in the woods, I've had a couple of 20 FP attacks at anyone stepping into the woods with a little bit of success. I finally cleared up the last of his climbers but his sniper killed my only leader over here which could factor in. Those 2 disrupted French guys were both 1,1 rally rolls that than followed up with 6,5 or 6,6... He got IR on my H35s making a run for the battle on the hill but didn't affect anyone. All 5 of those are in motion... The 3 tanks on the road have a decision to make assuming the roadblock doesn't go down this turn, stay there and get them as they come up or try to push them back from the RB?
FYI the roadblock is UNDER the CX HS at the point of the German spear. Every Frenchie who breaks pretty much dies... and you can just make out my heavy weapons riding their horses hell bent for leather. The Belgians arrived and promptly gave up their horses to the 9-1, hmg, mmg x 2 (one broken) who needed to get back to Wespin to hopefully put some FP on the road.

View attachment 14829

Meanwhile back at the river... he finally finished his 16T bridge. He overstacked the entry hex with 12? vehicles? A lucky starshell could have actually allowed me to HIT something with my last 25LL way in the North. Twice I put up a random starshell trying to get lucky and rolled 2,6 for drift where a 3,6 would have lit up the bridge and allowed me maybe to end it with a few rate shots :) He got 2 MTRs up front and broke both due to ammo shortage 11 rolls...

View attachment 14830

And the only other area of interest... he had sent a total of 2.5 squads up the cliff path in 2 turns and I was able to keep 2 squads of them there during rout and jump them with my 227 and kill them all with a 1,1 :) You can see the Belgians coming to help here under disguise below a Blue ?
He may actually be done here. He's done the math and I think any other exit BUT the main road is close to impossible he tells me. If he could have gotten a platoon or so up the path they might have been able to factor in, so the Belgians might not be needed here at all and I have 2 H35s coming here very slowly, at least on the road they can make 8 hexes per turn :)

View attachment 14831
Did the wind change direction at some point?
 

sdennis

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HOW tall are some of those stacks?????
I will go count later... I think he has 12 or more vehicles idling on the far bank in the bridge entry hex... like I said if I had gotten a 3,6 starshell drift, I have a 25LL that can see that hex. I think it is a guaranteed hit because of the overstacking, I may not hit what I'm aiming at but I would have hit SOMETHING!
 
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