Doctor Sinister
Member
We've spent a month playing this PBEM game, and I am ashamed to report that I was NOT victorious. I have brought dishonour upon myself and will naturally commit suicide immediately.
...well, once I've posted this AAR anyway.
I have attached details of the battle parameters - picture 1.
Picture 2 shows the map. North is to the top of the picture. My deployment zone was to the left, Mephisto's to the right.
There were four flags, three small and one large. My plan was to seize the largest flag, and make a token effort towards one of the smaller ones. I gambled that once I had taken the large flag, I would be able to conduct a sweep to the North to support my other forces and swing the game in my favour.
I therefore dispatched an entire Company up my "right" side of the map (bottom as depicted in the picture), supported by a Platoon of Panzer IVs and a Platoon of StuGs. My aim was to bring overwhelming force to bear in one sector, thus inflicting a Defeat in Detail. In order to throw my opponent off the scent (and because I had spare points) I also brought along another Platoon of infantry, and they were directed up the centre.
Yellow arrows depict Infantry, Red depicts Armour. You will notice the dog-leg that some of my armour undertook, this was a small modification to my strategy after about 3 turns once contact had been made.
The blue circle was my intended master-stroke. Having noted the exceptionally long LOS all the way up the road from this position, I placed a series of 20mm cannon and MG-34 HMGs at this position, covering the whole length of the road and the small settlement. My aim was to use this force to "fix" enemy movement in that area and prevent deployment/reinforcement across that road.
Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan.
It can only have been about three turns into the game when contact was made in the southern sector of the map. My advancing Company found itself engaged in a vicious firefight. Enemy Infantry had taken control of a Church and were advancing to meet me head on, with armour in support. I lost a StuG very early on and this forced me to rethink my strategy. I had attempted to advance on too narrow a front, my forces were pinned in one location, so I sent some armour around to the left to try and swing around.
The cannon I had placed were fairly successful as far as I could tell. I know that during the battle they were able to pin down a number of enemy Infantry units, and knock out one Tank - but the actual number of kills they scored was very low. In retrospect, I should have bought some more Armour or Troops to take the battle to the enemy.
Things began to go VERY wrong when:
a ) I realised it was going to take 6 minutes (SIX!!) for my artillery to begin firing.
b ) The two Tanks I had sent to the left were both knocked out in one turn by a single T-34.
I soon found myself paralysed, unable to advance, unprepared to retreat, with all of my men engaged in battle simultaneously.
And then...I made a big mistake.
With two StuGs still supporting the main Infantry push (one very low on ammo'), I reversed my two remaining Panzers in an effort to duplicate the previous plan of supporting the Platoon in the middle. BAD move - because as I did so, I observed a T-34 driving south to attack my Company. It was too late! My Tanks were already committed. In a panic, I stopped one Panzer and drove it forward again, where it met its fate, and sent the second one north, where the same T-34 as before blew it apart.
I was now down to 2 StuGs, and one of those was soon destroyed - although it had no ammo' at this stage and was simply there to keep the enemy amused.
Things were desperate as we reached the end-phase of our game. Although I had managed to knock out all but one of Mephisto's Tanks (that same T-34 was left alive!!), I was down to one piece of armour myself.
I decided to throw my entire effort into one last push against that big flag. I sent all surviving members of my Company and my last StuG into the general vicinity of the flag. Mephisto reported to me at this time that ownership of the flag had changed - and he was not happy. Immediately, his surviving Tank broke cover and charged hell for leather towards me. It was going to be a nailbiting finish - and with ten seconds to go, he wiped out my StuG and tipped the balance of the flag in his favour.
I had lost.
If I had held my nerve and kept all my armour where it was, I could have won this battle.
Picture 5 is the official result. I am now off the the W.A.R.S. ladder to post this, and then do the honourable suicide thing.
Thanks to Mephisto for the battle - hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!
NB: This was my first CM:BB battle against a human opponent (as opposed to CM:AK), so I don't think I did too bad.
Dr. S.
...well, once I've posted this AAR anyway.
I have attached details of the battle parameters - picture 1.
Picture 2 shows the map. North is to the top of the picture. My deployment zone was to the left, Mephisto's to the right.
There were four flags, three small and one large. My plan was to seize the largest flag, and make a token effort towards one of the smaller ones. I gambled that once I had taken the large flag, I would be able to conduct a sweep to the North to support my other forces and swing the game in my favour.
I therefore dispatched an entire Company up my "right" side of the map (bottom as depicted in the picture), supported by a Platoon of Panzer IVs and a Platoon of StuGs. My aim was to bring overwhelming force to bear in one sector, thus inflicting a Defeat in Detail. In order to throw my opponent off the scent (and because I had spare points) I also brought along another Platoon of infantry, and they were directed up the centre.
Yellow arrows depict Infantry, Red depicts Armour. You will notice the dog-leg that some of my armour undertook, this was a small modification to my strategy after about 3 turns once contact had been made.
The blue circle was my intended master-stroke. Having noted the exceptionally long LOS all the way up the road from this position, I placed a series of 20mm cannon and MG-34 HMGs at this position, covering the whole length of the road and the small settlement. My aim was to use this force to "fix" enemy movement in that area and prevent deployment/reinforcement across that road.
Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan.
It can only have been about three turns into the game when contact was made in the southern sector of the map. My advancing Company found itself engaged in a vicious firefight. Enemy Infantry had taken control of a Church and were advancing to meet me head on, with armour in support. I lost a StuG very early on and this forced me to rethink my strategy. I had attempted to advance on too narrow a front, my forces were pinned in one location, so I sent some armour around to the left to try and swing around.
The cannon I had placed were fairly successful as far as I could tell. I know that during the battle they were able to pin down a number of enemy Infantry units, and knock out one Tank - but the actual number of kills they scored was very low. In retrospect, I should have bought some more Armour or Troops to take the battle to the enemy.
Things began to go VERY wrong when:
a ) I realised it was going to take 6 minutes (SIX!!) for my artillery to begin firing.
b ) The two Tanks I had sent to the left were both knocked out in one turn by a single T-34.
I soon found myself paralysed, unable to advance, unprepared to retreat, with all of my men engaged in battle simultaneously.
And then...I made a big mistake.
With two StuGs still supporting the main Infantry push (one very low on ammo'), I reversed my two remaining Panzers in an effort to duplicate the previous plan of supporting the Platoon in the middle. BAD move - because as I did so, I observed a T-34 driving south to attack my Company. It was too late! My Tanks were already committed. In a panic, I stopped one Panzer and drove it forward again, where it met its fate, and sent the second one north, where the same T-34 as before blew it apart.
I was now down to 2 StuGs, and one of those was soon destroyed - although it had no ammo' at this stage and was simply there to keep the enemy amused.
Things were desperate as we reached the end-phase of our game. Although I had managed to knock out all but one of Mephisto's Tanks (that same T-34 was left alive!!), I was down to one piece of armour myself.
I decided to throw my entire effort into one last push against that big flag. I sent all surviving members of my Company and my last StuG into the general vicinity of the flag. Mephisto reported to me at this time that ownership of the flag had changed - and he was not happy. Immediately, his surviving Tank broke cover and charged hell for leather towards me. It was going to be a nailbiting finish - and with ten seconds to go, he wiped out my StuG and tipped the balance of the flag in his favour.
I had lost.
If I had held my nerve and kept all my armour where it was, I could have won this battle.
Picture 5 is the official result. I am now off the the W.A.R.S. ladder to post this, and then do the honourable suicide thing.
Thanks to Mephisto for the battle - hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!
NB: This was my first CM:BB battle against a human opponent (as opposed to CM:AK), so I don't think I did too bad.
Dr. S.
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