Anzio 1944 Telu (Allies) vs Heldenkaiser (Germans) playtest AAR

Telumar

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It's been a while since i posted an AAR, and as playtesting for Anzio is in the final stages (current version maybe the final one except we detect an event bug) i thought i'd post an AAR from my current game with Heldenkaiser, also with the purpose of advertising ;)
We're playing version 1.61, for further info about the scenario see: http://forums.gamesquad.com/showthread.php?t=80220

...

It's pre-dawn, January 22nd 1944. US VI Corps is ready to land behind the German lines at Anzio..

First, i think i need to explain how victory as the Allies can be achieved in Anzio 1944. There are two possibilities: Either a sudden death victory by increasing the EEV value by driving up the Velletri Gap, occupying the high ground of the Colli Laziali (Alban Hills) and cutting the railroad and highway 6, the vital supply line for the German forces at the Gustav Line. When the EEV reaches certain levels there are certain percentage chances for the Germans to withdraw from the Gustav Line. The other possibility is simply by holding the gained ground and the major part of the VP locations (i.e. if the EEV checks failed or the Allies haven't reached the appropriate EEV value for the first check.)

Speed is crucial. The longer the scenario lasts the stronger the Germans get, initial resistance will be weak but will stiffen over time as more and more German reinforcements reach the beachhead.

As the Allied player i have the option to airdrop the 504th Para Regt in the vicinity of Aprilia, approximately 15 km north of Anzio. This is a big advantage as speed is the key to an Allied victory and the German player won't be able to set up blocking positions further south than Aprilia. However i decided not to chose the TO as the 100 VPs penalty could make the difference between one victory level (1000 VPs on the map) and if the EEV checks fail this could be critical.

I outlined my plan in the attached .jpg file. It consists of two phases:

Phase 1 (yellow)

Securing the base of the beachhead, cut off Highway No.7 and deny enemy lateral movement*.

Br.1st Inf Div (+ 40th Royal Tank Regt) will move up the Via Anziate towards Osteriaccia with the objectives Aprilia, Osteriaccia, Campoleone, Albano and Genzano. It will be supported by one Ranger Regt and US 3rd Div's 15th Inf Regt which itself will be supported by a TD Bn. This is obviously the main effort for phase 1. Why? Because my opponent will probably expect my main effort along the axis Cisterna - Velletri - Valmontone where the terrain is better suited for mobile operations (north of Cisterna) and where he had put his main effort in our last game.

The Commando Force, later to be relieved by 504th Para Regt, and one Ranger Bn will secure the long flank along the Moletta Creek, up to Buonriposo Ridge and Vallelata ridge. This terrain benefits the defender and hampers mobility.

US 3rd Inf Div will send its 7th Inf Regt along the main road against Cisterna and the 30th Inf Regt along the Mussolini Canal. 30th Regt will be followed by 509th Para Bn and one Ranger Regiment to secure the eastern flank at the Mussolini Canal. 3rd Division's objectives are: Cisterna, Velletri (7th Regt) and Cori (30th Regt).

*(take a look at the map, when highway 7 is cut, interrupted or whatever, the Alban Hills present a natural obstacle to the enemy's lateral movements, slowing down shifting of reserves from one sector to an other etc).

Phase 2 (red)

Seizing the Alban Hills, Valmontone and cut off Highway No.6.

This is when the follow-up forces come into play. These consist mainly of US 45th Inf Div and CCA/1st Armor Div which will be fed into the line to keep momentum. Ideally there will be no pause or rest between phases 1 and 2. Also, the main effort will be switched towards the Velletri Gap. Allocation of forces etc is situation dependent..anyway if phase 1 doesn't succeed there will be no phase 2 as outlined.

Br. 1st Division will probably have a hard time to advance, its main mission is to create a diversion and bind as many enemy troops as possible. Part of US 3rd Division probably will be sent to rest and provide a mobile reserve.


I am fully aware of the problem of overextending. Therefore speed is essential, VI Corps has to grab the EEV locations quickly before the Germans can build up enough strength. Further, VI Corps will be numerical superior in the early part of the battle and as German reinforcements are not coming in all at once it should be possible to defeat and/or destroy them piecemeal. So far the theory, but as we all know, no plan survives contact with the enemy..


Turn 1

Well, there's not much to report, landings went well, Anzio is in Allied hands and we're preparing to advance. Note the sea supply units (similar to the Mulberry solution in West Front 44) - these are vulnerable to enemy air raids and coastal artillery fire. The exclusion zone around Peter Beach limits the British initial perimeter. Historically sand banks/shallow water and mines hampered and delayed the unloadings at Peter Beach to such a degree that Lucas decided to switch subsequent British landings to Anzio harbour.

Nothing to see from the Germans..yet.
 
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Telumar

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Turn 2

There's not much to tell from turn 2. Further reinforcements have landed and movement inland has begun, nothing to see from the Germans yet, except one company at the Mussolini Canal.

Turn 3

Landings continued without disturbance, the following units have arrived:

-751st Tank Bn
-601st TD Bn
-rest of 41st AW Bn
-Corps Headquarters
-3rd Div Headquarters
-24th Gds Bde Headquarters
-5 Grenadier Guards
-1 Irish Guards

On the left flank, 42 Royal Marine Commando found the north bank of the Fosso* di Moletta undefended and has set up defensive positions at the southern bank of the Fosso* Incastro, the northern bank being held by a German Panzergrenadier Battalion. No.9 Commando is preparing to occupy the Fossignano forest and Buonriposo Ridge while the Rangers will advance to the Vallelata Ridge.

*Fosso (it.) ~ Creek, River

In the center, surprisingly no German resistance has been encountered yet. Even Aprilia has been taken unopposed! Instead, the German main line of resistance is as far north as Osteriaccia/Lanuvio. The position is weak, but the nasty Tiger tanks at Osteriaccia will keep me busy for a while. Naval artillery has begun to shell these positions.
Night (the next two turns) will be used to outflank Osteriaccia and to bring in 15th Infantry Regt from the beachhead's centre. Hopefully the move remains undetected (the Germans are able to see almost any daylight movement from their higher positions - note the peak hexes, to be seen in the attachment of the first post in the Alban Hills).

On the right, the Mussolini Canal could be crossed towards Cisterna without opposition, the town itself is held by German recon elements. 3rd Division Recon's attempt to seize the town by a coup-de-main fails. Elements of Hermann Göring Pz Div, a Brandenburger unit and Luftwaffe ground troops have been identified northwest of the town.

Allied Air Shock is 95% as it is an afternoon turn (allied aircraft must return to their distant bases as they need daylight to land - historically the Germans used this weakness to stage their air raids against Allied shipping). Unimpressed by this fact the USAF has knocked out several guns of the coastal artillery battery at Genzano.

Looks like it's going according to plan and even better. Usually this is where things can only get worse.. we will see.
 
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Telumar

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FIRST: I have mistaken US 3rd Infantry Division's 30th Regiment with the 15th Regiment in the posts and screenshots above. :OHNO: To state it clearly: 30th Regt is on the left flank attacking towards Osteriaccia, 15th Regiment is on the right flank, attacking along the Mussolini Canal and towards Cisterna.

Turn 4 (Night, January 22nd)

There was considerable German movement towards the beachhead. It seems that while Heldenkaiser also inserted two (?) battalions each at Cisterna and Osteriaccia he also moved some units into the vast plain area between these two towns. This will work a bit in my favour as I don’t plan to “rush” across the muddy plain in the beachhead’s centre while these units will guard the emptiness and can only react slowly due to their low grade of motorisation (if any) and local terrain effects on movement.
The Allied navy has been shelled by coastal artillery, but with little effect.

84th Chemical Mortar Bn and 1-36th Eng Bn have landed at Anzio, both will be send straight to the Osteriaccia sector.

The British 1st Div moved up along the Via Anziate to get into contact with the German line. An outflanking manoeuvre has begun across the ‘Fosso Campo del Ficco’ between Vallelata Ridge and Osteriaccia. The terrain there is slowing down movement considerably, but I hope the manoeuvre itself or at least its scope remains undetected.
Attacks against the German motorcycle platoon southwest of the town and against the town itself failed (and actually cost me the rest of the turn – argh) despite quite effective preparatory shelling by naval gunfire and ‘conventional’ artillery. Following the British along the minor road along the ‘Fosso di Spacasassi’ is the American 30th RCT (30th Regt, 601st TD Bn (-A co.), A/751st Tank Bn, 84th Chemical Mortar Bn). 4th Ranger Bn and No.9 Commando have begun to swarm out across the Moletta Creek and Buonriposo ridge to provide flank cover. 3rd Ranger Bn, following behind 30th RCT, will be tasked with covering the central sector of the beachhead front (currently the area south of the railway running from Cisterna to Osteriaccia).

In the Cisterna sector, contact with the enemy has been established, too. A direct attack against Cisterna failed while losses have been moderate for both sides. A series of artillery ‘raids’ has been carried out along the length of the enemy line to give him the illusion of pressure..such is the theory.
Further south, 509th Para Bn is securing the Mussolini Canal crossings at Borgo Sabotino, opposed by 129.PzAufkl Abt. 1st Ranger Bn has arrived at Sessano to take care of the crossings further north along the Canal.

I really don’t know how good Heldenkaiser’s battlefield recon is. It’s a PM turn and theatre recon on PM turns is set to zero for both sides, but he has many peak hexes under his possession. So, maybe he realises my ‘Schwerpunkt’, we will see.

The composition of German forces in the two sectors is interesting. Opposing the British 1st Division is a mixture of emergency units of doubtful quality, Luftwaffe engineers, outdated Italian assault guns and the recently raised, not fully equipped and inexperienced 4th FJ Div. The only two battle-worthy units there are one Tiger company and an armoured car company of 26.Panzer Div. Btw, I.Fallschirmkorps HQ has been identified in Lanuvio.
The picture is quite different in the Cisterna sector: Here elements of the experienced, veteran and well equipped Hermann Göring Panzer Division are holding the ground, with a Brandenburger Grenadier battalion further north, supported by mechanized elements and armoured cars of 129.Pz Aufkl, self propelled AA and some 88s.
Of course, this deployment is not solely a result of Heldenkaiser’s plans and force allocation - it is much more a result of where the troops arrive in theatre and the urgency to build up a frontline as fast as possible.

As night combat is rather ineffecient, I plan to spend the two PM turns mainly with movement, manoeuvre and deployment, preparing for the major offensive to start on the morning of the 23rd (turn 6).
 
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Telumar

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Turn 5 (Pre-Dawn, January 23rd)

This time nighttime prevented almost any recon about enemy movements. There was movement in the Cisterna sector, but that’s all that can be told. He continued to shell some of my destroyers and cruisers and he also went for some artillery positions with his long-range guns. Losses have been negligible.

In the British sector I moved three battalions across the ‘Fosso Campo del Fico’ and got into contact with the German troops there. A fourth battalion is waiting to cross in the morning. There wasn’t much space left for manoeuvre and so I decided to attack despite my initial intention to only attack in the morning of the 23rd. Attacks west of Campoleone Station went well and have enabled the British to advance 1 km against units of the 4th FJ Div. American tank destroyers attacked the Tiger units defending Osteriaccia; three enemy tanks have been reported killed versus two M10s, but the enemy is still holding his ground. East of the town attacks have been weaker and therefore less successful, there the situation remains unchanged. 15th Regt is still being held in reserve, I think it’s not yet the time to commit it.
Three German Panzergrenadier battalions have been identified in the southern slopes of the Alban Hills.

In the Cisterna sector I swarmed out to establish contact with the enemy along the length of his line. With tanks and armoured cars supporting 1-7th Inf Bn I was able to seize Cisterna. In the ‘Macchia San Biagio’ (the forest southeast of Cisterna) the enemy line could have been penetrated on a two km length and depth by 30th Regt. Actually, this was the weakest part of his line, being held by HG Alarm (emergency) troops without support from armoured cars and heavy weapons.

I selected two of the Allied Air options, the release of US XII ASC* and MATBF** for the next day (the next two AM turns and the night turn) to add some push for the planned offensive.

* US XII Air Support Corps (of which 16th Fighter Wing is part of, the only air formation permanently available to the Allied player)
** Mediterranean Allied Tactical Bomber Force
 
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Telumar

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I think it's time to add some remarks about the course of the scenario..

This is not a simulation of what historically happened, it is a game.

Those of who you know the Anzio campaign might wonder about the stunning Allied advance, about Aprilia falling so early and about the Allied capture of Cisterna early on the second day of the invasion. Historically, the Allies didn't go on the offensive until the end of January and didn't capture Cisterna at all after sitting idle for three days after the landings. Actually, as in the scenario, there was almost no resistance to the landings, the Allies achieved a total tactical surprise, and no German troops were in the vicinity that could have stopped them from pushing inland. As controversial Lucas' decision to stay passive might be, he had his reasons. First, the Allies expected counterattacks from the immediate beginning of the landings, then there was the problem of overextending, deliberately unclear orders, giving Lucas freedom of choice when and whether at all to advance (on)to the Alban Hills and the Allied experience at Salerno.
Well, and there's the 'common wargamer' - do you know any wargamer who would sit idle in his beachhead and do nothing after achieving total surprise and with absence of sufficient enemy troops to grab his objective?
Therefore 'Anzio 1944' is more a semi-historical 'what if' scenario than other 'historical' scenarios, it's also about playability and fun. As you might know, Kesselring, the German commander in chief in Italy, decided that a defence could be made due to the Allied passiveness, still quite some of his commanders urged him to retreat 10th Army from the Gustav Line. What would Kesselring have done if the Allies had as boldly pushed out of their beachhead as here in the AAR? I don't know, but he would have had little choice other than to commit what he could and what was available in the plans for 'Case Richard' and 'Case Marder' (contingency plans in the case of an allied amphibious landing). However, to compensate the German player for this ahistorical course of events, I gave him some options about earlier releases of 4th FJ Div units and about the release of a Kampfgruppe from 90.PzGren Div that didn't see action at the beachhead (Every single unit counts for him in the beginning, believe me).
 

Polynike

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Tel, what you say has a lot of sense. What wargamer would eschew the chance to expliot and expand a situation where tactical surprise has been achieved. IRL, despite the lack of clear orders and problem of over extending, the sitaution was not exploited and thus time given for the Germans to react and feed forces in. Something they were very good at, as evidenced in Arnhem as well.

The great thing about TOAW is that it allows for historical and ahistorical events to run concurrently. To use this scen as an example, the Allies achieve total tactical surprise as there are no immediate German units to rush into the area but the German player is given the option to have forces released (4th FJD and KG 90th PzGr). It would be folly on the Allied player part to play the game historically and advance slowly. IRL had they done so, the Gustav Line may well have been abandoned quicker, it would have changed the theatre as a whole and may have had wider war implications with maybe other units, eg LSSAH or 10/11th SS Panzer, being deployed to Italy. Thats the great thing about TOAW the flexibility it gives the players within a given scenario.
 

Telumar

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IRL had they done so, the Gustav Line may well have been abandoned quicker
I don't know, it would have been a big gamble, with two Infantry divisions, an armored Bde (CCA, 1st AD), two Regts of light Infantry (Rangers, 504th PRCT) and a handfull of Tank, TD and Engineer Bns to hold a frontline of approx. 120 km length, the supply-head being 50 to 60 kms inland. Quite risky, given the speed with which the Germans built up strength.
Even in the scenario, there is only a percentage chance, although a high one if the Allies get Valmontone and the surrounding territory, that Kesselring orders the Gustav line be abandoned.
 

Telumar

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Turn 6 (Morning, January 23rd)

Heldenkaiser has committed one of its reserve battalions of 3rd PzGren to the Osteriaccia sector. No enemy movement other than that could be spotted.

The following units have disembarked at Anzio:

Br. 3rd Inf Bde HQs
1 Duke of Wellington Bn
2 Sherwood Foresters Bn
81 Atk Regt (-)
46 Royal Tank Regt
parts of 540th Para Regt (rest to follow in the afternoon)

This turn i had planned for my big offensive to begin. With additional air support and the amount of firepower assembled in the Osteriaccia sector this should have been a stunning success... but well, the Tiger platoon at Campoleone station cost me the turn.. :angry: 30th Regt has been moved to Lanuvio, but couldn't start its attack due to the named circumstances.
At least one good news is that Osteriaccia itself fell easily to an RBC. I also have been able to drive a wedge into the German lines right there (which will probably be eliminated on Heldenkaiser's turn). No other progress was made, also not in the Cisterna sector.
US XII ASC and MATBF flew ground attack missions against known German artillery positions with mixed results, but as the turn ended early this was a wasted effort anyway. Next day (turn 10) a bad weather period will set in which renders the use of aircraft ineffective, so this has been the last good chance for the use of the additional air support until turn 22 when the bad weather ends.
 

Telumar

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Turn 7 (Afternoon, January 23rd)

Second try for the all-out offensive..With my airforce under a 95% shock penalty i was a bit handicapped in the air this turn. Nevertheless, and as it is the last turn the additional air units are active, i ordered attacks on known german artillery positions. The results were mixed but i was able to knock out several guns thus reducing german artillery support by dis-entrenching his units. Another good effect is that this tactics prevents him from using his Flak, especially the 88s, in the front. (Heldenkaiser has guarded most of his artillery with Flak since my first air raids)

Reinforcements:

B, C/1st Recon regt
1 KSLI (King's Scottish Light Infantry) Bn
24 Regt, RA
80 Medium Regt, RA
2 batteries from the 81st ATk Regt
plus the rest of 504th Para Regt

The groundattacks in the Osteriaccia sector were very successfull. The gains were nowhere more than one kilometre, but the battles left his troops in great disarray, causing considerable losses. He still has reserves that he'll surely will use to plug the holes in his front, but i think an exploitation of this turn's success will be possible.
The red line in the screenshot shows the starting position at the beginning of the turn.

In the Cisterna sector it looks like a stalemate. Several attacks to expand the Cisterna perimeter have failed soundly.
 
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Telumar

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Turn 8 (Night, January 23rd)

'Held' moved a PzGren Bn from 3.PzG Div and the FJ Lehr Bn to the Osteriaccia sector. He was then able to form again a continous line. He also moved the Kampfgruppe of 1.FJ Div (one FJ Bn and one MG Bn) to Velletri, suppossedly to serve as the next wave of 'gap fillers'. Peter Beach supply has been bombed, but with no effects. I think he also quite suffered from numerous interdicition strikes..

The action at Osteriaccia: I achieved some RBCs against some un-entrenched PzG units which was a welcome surprise. Resistance was rather light west of the Albano road, whereas i had a hard time (especially in US 30th Regt's sector) to dislodge the german defenders east of the road in the Bocage terrain (actually vineyards and olive cultures). Finally Campoleone and Lanuvio fell and between Osteriaccia and Campoleone i was able to surround and destroy three enemy units (One Bn HQ and two Companies). It's only five hexes to Albano and three to Genzano now - which means the objectives for phase one are well within reach. This also means no rest for the poor Tommys.
Own losses have been not unconsiderable this turn and quite some units have gone down to the 'cherry red'.

At Cisterna i was able to gain one hex in the Maccia San Biaggio, maybe i will be able to press the defenders there against the Mussolini Canal.
All other attacks against his units surrounding Cisterna failed again and this time under really heavy losses. I think i'll rest my units here the next turn and change my Schwerpunkt to one of the lighter defended flanks of his positions, plus taking care that Cisterna, which is still surrounded on four sides, will not fall to a german counterattack. Regarding the developments along the Albano road it also could well be that he will be forced to weaken this sector.

In the western coastal sector Ardea has fallen to a sneak attack by No.9 Commando which approached through the bad terrain on the eastern side of the town. I think his recon failed as i already had moved the units to within two hexes of the town in the previous turn and then he weakened his defences there (sending split down recon units to Osteriaccia).

With the fall Campoleone, Ardea and Lanuvio we're now barely at a marginal victory! :hurray:
 
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