Road to Rimini 1944- Allies

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[FONT=&quot]I've promised a turn out playing Allies ASAP (already late) after- of course- a stop for tea with scones and crumpet (the Poles will just have to wait). Looking around and with the huge benefit in hindsight of having played the Germans in this the main plan is:

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]1) To head up the roads (all 4) as fast as possible (speed absolutely critical) giving the Germans as little time as possible to dig in in depth using arty as a sledgehammer in direct support. [/FONT] [FONT=&quot]2) Main thrust up the coast road with support from naval guns.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Also try to surround and kill what I can that stays south of the Foglia, particularly around S. Angelo.
4) Blow the bridge in 8,6 (maybe 11,9 too) to reduce supply by road/railroad. This will hopefully force some of their engineering capacity north to repair as opposed to helping units get into and build defenses in hexes of the Foglia River line near Petsamo to improve its chances of holding out longer.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]5) Also blow bridges to aid with surrounds if necessary- you've the engineering to rebuild them very quickly.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]6) Take out any and all LW assets with airfield attacks- as many as it takes. Then put it all on interdiction if no bridges to do in. CS a waste in my experience.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]7) Casualty differential is crucial- I've got to keep mine down and theirs up so I'll be using armour assets where I can with direct arty.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]8) Units (except HQs, Arty, Engineers, maybe armour occasionally) broken down to reduce casualties and allow for rotation.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]9) Avoid enemy armour if you can. I've seen hamlets defended for a whole turn by single StGIIIs or even those Italian Semoventes.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]10) I'll try and hit his engineers when I can, since they're crucial for his digging/bridging effort. Plus the usual targets of opportunity- red stacks and other sundry objects.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]11) Formations together where possible and perhaps a broad front from the Poles with other units in spots as needed, given start positions.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]12) Destroy any enemy air assets ASAP.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Then let’s see how it all goes and progresses and adapt. From where I'm sitting calling this 'Operation Olive' was a total misnomer though it may have been chosen for intel purposes to fool the enemy. It should have been called 'Operation Sledgehammer' or some such.

Righto! Tally ho! [/FONT]
 
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Road to Rimini 1944- Allies Turn 1

[FONT=&quot]ROUND 1[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

I'm using SP Guns to make the Limited Attacks with Direct Arty Support. Those are Sextons and M7 HMC Priests. Attacks really anywhere I can get them starting at 60% remaining movement or more. Airfield Attacks from everyone to destroy the LW with the Spitfires on AS. Also get arty up a little.

Results:
40% of turn remaining.

1) All ME109s are gone, but 2 JU87s remain.
2) Faro and Saltara cleared but not enough MPs to move in.
3) 1 LP inflicted for 0. No SP Guns lost at all that I could see- and I looked at all detailed combat reports and also checked inventory and replacements which shows air losses at 3 Spitfires, 1 P51 and 1 Boston.

ROUND 2


First let's set all arty on TR and planes on CS and see if there any quick win overruns.

1) Yes we cleared 17,18 with Hasting & PE. This lets us occupy Saltara. With the same unit we also AV'd 17,17, giving us a head start up the road. Marvelous! With 2 MPs left let's dig it in. In Saltara with few MPs to do much let's dig in but leave HQ on TR- that way if anything hard hits 17,17 a few Humbers will maybe race to the rescue.
2) We got 5/Hampshire into 13,19. With 5 MPs left let's dig in.
3) Tried an overrun against 20,15 and a couple of other hexes with no results.
4) Pushed Lyl Edmonton Rgt to 20,16 through ZOC but no apparent effect but unfortunately it's now out in the open with 0MPs. A risk but it seriously restricts 3/4 Falls retreat options.
5) Put all air on Interdiction (so it becomes default return value?). Turn weather on to see cloud cover. Great, none over airfield or the 2 bridges I'd like to blow (8,6 and 11,9).
6) Let's hit the airfield with Spitfires and Kittyhawks to try to finish those JU87s. ML setting as I am hoping to get one more round though hedging ground-wise in case I don't.
7) Let's hit the bridge at 8,6 first with Bostons, Baltimores, Wellingtons, Liberators. 61% odds. Leaves Beaufighters, Mosquitos, Mustangs, Typhoons for interdiction at worst if turn ends.
8) All CW Arty on Direct Support since even if turn ends I don't expect much enemy activity in their turn and besides Poles are helping.
9) Hit 22,14 to try to clear out and occupy Faro with that hopeful last turn.
10) Hit 20,15 to press on.
11) Hit 10,19 to weaken.

Results: 30% of turn remaining.

1) JU87s remain. Cannot believe it. Will have to have a crack next turn. The bridge survived too. All air to interdiction- it's moving day for the Germans and I wouldn't miss it for the world.
2) Approaches to Faro cleared and it occupied.
3) Took 20,15 and dug in.

ROUND 3

1) A lot of arty to 18,18 and dig in to get a head start on a road next turn. Put rear Polish armour units on TR in case of raid. Some other arty moves forward and digs in- got to keep up.
2) 22,16 on TR to support arty moved up/dug in in case of raid.
2) Attack 10,19 with a lot of Direct Arty to weaken. IL since it won't go long.
3) Elsewhere dig in including arty, consolidate.
4) Let's hit FJ HQ in 20,13 with some heavy direct arty to let them know we're on the way too.
5) Can't resist- let's give the Spitfires one more crack at the JU87s on IL setting.
6) Adriatic RN to TR.

Results: Turn end. Losses 2-1 in my favour and 4 VP hexes.

1) 1 JU87 gone, 1 remaining.
2) HQ took 8% damage- a few horse teams.
3) 10,19 retreated.

NB: File attached contains saves for rounds 1,2,3, End (just prior to hitting end turn) and save of turn end. [/FONT]
 
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L`zard

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Re: Road to Rimini 1944- Allies Turn 1

Looks interesting, GS!

Good to see ya back!

:clown:
 

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Road to Rimini 1944- Allies Turn 2

[FONT=&quot]TURN 1 RESULTS- GERMANY[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

Looking at the Playback, it would seem mostly movement and positioning under extremely heavy air interdiction, with a few probing attacks. Given my heavy arty support on call, these probably did a lot more damage to him than me.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]ROUND 1[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

1) We set all air on CS, all arty/HQs from mobile to TR if not in D/E/F modes already and tried for overruns, but nothing doing.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) Let’s hit the 1 JU87 again with our Spitfires. The remaining bombers are placed on Bridge Attack against 8,6 (clear skies here) to reduce supply/inhibit reinforcement. Remaining fighters remain on Interdiction in case of early turn end.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) The 4th Indian Division seized Urbino and the bridge north at 8,17 with the sudden withdrawal of the 5th Gebirgsjäger Division. I tested whether I could have moved next to it on Turn 1 and if it would be released for action, or just disappear Turn 2 in hotseat mode- as it happens it would have just gone even with Allied troops adjacent, but it’s maybe just as well I didn’t move alongside since the Germans, seeing no movement by the Allies here, didn’t bother to plug what was going to become a serious gap at the start of Turn 2. So the 4th Indian Division is now at the gates of the Gustav Line on the west side without firing a single shot.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4) 5th Corps and 46th Infantry Division recce units managed to slip through German lines, break up and seize Petriano, San Angelo and Saltara, as well as surrounding units to the South and giving us something of a lock on the 2 westernmost bridges of 3 over the Foglia River. We’ve now got to trash their engineers every chance we get to reduce their ability to cross either minor or major rivers.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]5) One desperately stupid mistake was made here, having the 142 Field Regiment arty in 16,18 direct fire at elements of the 191st Infantry Battalion in the mountains in 14,18 on an IL setting and without supporting an infantry assault, which means- as I found out- we’re doomed all other things equal to burning 30% of our turn instead of a hopeful 10, maybe 20, %. And all for no result given the German units’ location.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]6) These mountains will have to be cleared sooner or later, so we might as well start now. You need 100% of your MP allowance to assault a mountain so we launched the Hastings & PE Regiment in 17,17 up 16,17 with a staggering amount of direct arty fire support.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]7) East of Saltara we launch the lads against whatever Fallschirmjäger units we can get at with 100% MP allowances: 18,14, 19,15, 20,14 (check out the direct arty fire support on this one since it’s overstacked, out in the open and not dug in), 21,14.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Results:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 70% of turn remaining.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1) JU87 survives- some charmed plane. No air losses and bridge is down. Great![/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) Losses going our way- 7 LPs inflicted for 0- the Germans were hit hard, including units in the mountains at 16,17.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Most attacked units retreated with heavy casualties for minimal losses. I’m using armor where possible and only 1/3 of a unit where possible with arty doing the bulk of the work- I wouldn’t have wanted to be out for a stroll in 20,14.
4) File A2R2Start shows positions going into Round 2.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
ROUND 2[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]

1) Again, set all air on CS, all arty/HQs from mobile to TR if not in D/E/F modes already and try for overruns. This worked on the east coast and we managed to get Canadian and Polish recce units through German lines to seize the approaches to the last bridge over the Foglia, trapping 3/1 FJ Battalion + on the beach and hopefully keeping much of the rest of the 1st FJ Division south of the Foglia. We must now find and cripple as much of their engineering capacity as possible to prevent river crossings.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) With the above in mind, attacks against 16,16, 18,15. Plus the boys on the beach (21,13), 17,16. All with as much direct arty fire support as possible.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Another error here, as I later found, forgetting to assign air missions and leaving all air on CS after the overrun attempts- I had meant to try to blow the bridge in 11,9.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
Results: 40% of turn remaining- some attacks went some distance. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1) No air activity other than CS due to command incompetence- which I find a total waste versus interdiction or targeted missions such as Airfield or Bridge Attacks. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) 16,16 Engineers got trashed- broken down with 7 MPs left and going nowhere in their turn given MPs and Allied recce unit drag on any movement to the rear.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) 18,15 Engineers retreated with 0 MPs left- they ain’t going anywhere either.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4) The boys on the beach in 21,13 eventually surrendered, though it took 3 rounds, so we’re down from 70% of turn t 40% remaining.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]5) Units in 17,16 were retreated- 0 MPs left.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]6) Losses 11-5 in our favour.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
ROUND 3[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1) Again, set all air on CS, all arty/HQs from mobile to TR if not in D/E/F modes already and try for overruns. No luck.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) Let’s try for that Stuka with the 80-odd Spitfires again. Bombers will Bridge Attack 11,9 (clear skies), and remaining fighters go on Interdiction in case of turn end.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Attacks on 18,14 and 19,14- large stacks of German units that aren’t dug in and vulnerable to arty. The usual doses of direct arty fire support, though we’ve got to start moving arty to prepare to follow the advance, and also take advantage of proximity to HQs for supply benefits.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4) It would have been nice to get at the Pioneers in 12,17 but in mountains we need all MPs to assault. So they’re- unfortunately- safe, and remain the Germans’ last best hope to get out.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]5) Attack on 11,18 to start closing in on the San Angelo pocket.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]6) Advance units as far forward as possible to interdict German movement and prepare for next turn.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]7) Attacks are to attrite Germans, reduce pocket, cause chaos and confusion leading to German formation reorgs in their turn, and cripple engineering ability to keep them south of the Foglia.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Results:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 20% of turn remaining- this is a surprise. One last chance to prepare for next turn.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1) Stuka survives to see another day. Surreal.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) 11,9 bridge blown. Great! 2 hexes to repair for Germans to get full supply and reinforcements down.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) 18,14 retreated, 19, 14 stands. Both take heavy casualties. Not much German moving from here.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4) 11,18 retreated with heavy casualties.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]5) Losses 12-8 in our favour. Not as much arty in direct fire support, so assaults were more difficult.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]6) At 20% remaining, time to close the show.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]ROUND 4[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1) Again, set all air on CS, all arty/HQs from mobile to TR if not in D/E/F modes already and try for overruns. No luck. All air to interdiction for German turn.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) The Irish Regiment, with a piece of the 145th RAC to provide armor support directly assault 19,14, along with 3rd/2nd SK Polish Infantry and BC Dragoons for armor support from 20,14 plus 2nd/W Nova Scotia from 18,14 to provide flank attack benefit. Not the usual LA, since we will only have one round, so an all-out assault with limited direct arty fire support- most now dug in or on TR to provide defensive fire support during the German turn. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) 1st/W Nova Scotia from 18,14 directly assaults- again not Limited, FULL attack- 18,13. Some direct arty fire support.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4) RN Bombards 19,13. Out of range of their guns.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]5) Move units for maximum arty coverage, prep for next turn and to maximize resupply.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Results:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Turn end as expected.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1) 1st/W Nova Scotia advances into 18,13. This traps most German units to the east and the Germans may struggle to extricate anything here. Unit is not dug in and in the open but it has a lot of defensive arty support.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) 19,14 remains, but took heavy casualties. As many units as possible (to 9 stack limit) went to 19,13.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Losses 13-8 in our favour. Our loss intolerance is desperate- 8 points for: 21 squads (including MGs, Mortar teams), 2 Horse Teams, 1 Truck, 5 Tanks, 5 Fighters, 1 Bomber versus- according to Detailed Combat Reports- many times that in German casualties. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Summary: [/FONT][FONT=&quot]I’m cautiously optimistic we’ve shattered the German defence on the Metauro River and we’re in with a decent chance to bag most of the remnants.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The lads have waited a L O N G time to get to grips with these FJ boys and give them a good dose of their own medicine for Greece, Crete, Sicily, Calabria, Ortona, Anzio, Monte Cassino. Now it looks like they might just have a whole load of them by the nuts. [/FONT]
 
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Road to Rimini 1944- Allies Turn 3

[FONT=&quot]TURN 2 RESULTS- GERMANY[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

The Germans tried to extricate what they could south of the Foglia River, while attempting to put whatever else they had in Gothic Line positions, all under extremely heavy Air Interdiction that saw 3 arty units just vaporize. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]

A few attacks to try to dislodge the stranglehold on units south of the Foglia, with the only- though notable- success the recapture of Petriano (13,17) allowing a number of more southerly units to make their way a little further north.[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]

Losses after we take on replacements are running at 13-0 in our favour going into turn 3.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]ROUND 1[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

1) As usual, we set all air on CS, all arty/HQs from mobile to TR if not in D/E/F modes already and tried for overruns- 10,17, 11,17 then 11,16, 12,17, 14,16, 15,18, 16,13 taken.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) Out in the Wild West, near Montecalvo (which I’m sure is occupied though I can’t see) we have to get across the river and in among the Gothic Line sooner or later, preferably sooner. So let’s drop engineers down to the river to help ford and do double duty as reconnaissance, while we keep our ‘real’ recce units for any gaps discovered- there should be some as I’m not sure he has enough units to man everything given state of the Germans eastwards. So let’s drop 3 pieces (you can break down to see if you have enough fording ability with 3 or only with 2 units- divide and recombine and divide again if necessary) of 4th Indian Division’s 4th Indian Engineering Battalion down into the river valley at 4,17 and 6,17- would have been nice to get to 5,17 but not possible (or necessary). This reveals a gap at 3,17 & 4,16 and we’ll cross the ‘real’ recce unit here into 4,16- Cnt India Horse. But we need 20% Minor Ford Capability to eliminate fording costs and give us the 1MP we need to able to dig in once across- dividing 1 Ry/Sussex of 7th Brigade into 2 allows us the 3% we need to get Minor Ford Capability up to a total of 21% and we can dig Cnt India Horse in as opposed to having it cavorting about in the open on the other side of the river. The other half of 1 Ry/Sussex goes to support 3/4th Indian Engineering in 6,17. The infantry on IL, the engineers on ML- they’re too valuable to lose and would want them to skedaddle at the first sign of trouble.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Combined Arms (where possible- armor, infantry, direct fire arty) assaults are planned to take 8,16, Petriano, 14,18, and Pesaro. Against surrounded units in 17,14, 19,13 and 19,14 the same, but for these we have the flank attack advantage too. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4) After some deliberation we decide to blow the bridge at Foglia to prevent escape from Pesaro and any counterattacks from the north- besides we have the engineering capability to very quickly repair. All bombers (3 units) are assigned to this mission which shows clear skies over the target but only a c20% chance of success. Remainder of air is placed on interdiction.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]5) Objectives now are prevent escape of, and destroy, units south of the Foglia and get across the Foglia and into the Gothic Line in as many places as possible with a view to making it untenable as a defensive line.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Results:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 40% of turn remaining. I had hoped for better, but fighting in the towns in particular proved intensive and prolonged.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1) 15-0 Casualties in Allies’ favor by 15-0.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) Bridge at Foglia remains intact[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Both towns held, unfortunately.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4) 8,16 19,14 held, 14,18, 17,14, 19,13 folded.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4) File A3R2Start shows positions going into Round 2. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
ROUND 2[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]

1) Again, set all air on CS, all arty/HQs from mobile to TR if not in D/E/F modes already and try for overruns. No luck.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) Given Round 1 burnt 60% of the turn and a number of the attacks will be the same, I think we can assume this will be the last round this turn. So all air to Interdiction and the RN up hex up the coast to prepare for next turn.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) We’ll be attempting major assaults with entire units- not unit pieces- in Full Attack/Ignore Losses mode in a number of locations, particularly towns- we HAVE to clear these to get ahead up the roads and for the supply net.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4) Arty is used in Direct Mode, with the proviso that every unit has to be able to reach a Gustav Line hex at the start of next turn, so some units are moved up and dug in or put on TR. Some infantry units with higher MP values are left in TR on the off chance that we may get another round.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]5) Let’s continue as in (5) from Round 1, but with more violence, since we need the towns and roads particularly before more German reinforcements can move up and dig in. So attacks on 8,16, Montecalvo, 10,15, 12,15, 12,16, Petriano, Montecchio, 14,17, 15,17, 19,14, Pesaro.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Results:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Turn end as expected. Not as good as I would have liked, but at least we now have Pesaro on the coast, though the Gothic Line remains intact except in the far west at 4,16. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Summary: [/FONT][FONT=&quot]We’ve almost completed our goal of destroying units between the Metauro and Foglia Rivers, but the Gothic Line remains almost totally intact- next turn will be crucial in getting into and hopefully through it.[/FONT]
 
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ogar

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Masterful planning and execution, GS.

But I have to commend your opponent for continuing to play against that onslaught.

Very nice to read the details (including your honestly id-ing those few slips you make) -- it's a great help.
 

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Battle of Petriano

But I have to commend your opponent for continuing to play against that onslaught.
Yes, absolutely agreed.

I took printouts of the detailed combat report on the battle for Petriano, but as an MS Word doc it's >3Mb so have to find a way to trim before posting. It's sobering reading on trying to survive what must have seemed like something out of Dante's Inferno.

See http://www.gr-8.biz/toaw/roadtorimini44/RtR- T4R1 Assault on Petriano.docx for 3Mb MS Word document.
 
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Road to Rimini 1944- Allies Turn 4

[FONT=&quot]TURN 3 RESULTS- GERMANY[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

The Germans plugged much (all? Can’t see) of the Gustav Line and destroyed the bridge over the Foglia west of Pesaro. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]An attack against my arty units west of Petriano from the unit in 16,17- I thought it would be in reorg or routed- resulted in them retreating but with minor casualties.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Losses going in to the turn stand at 23-0 in Allies’ favour with a Marginal Defeat, so we’re still coming from behind.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]ROUND 1[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

1) SOP: all air on CS, all arty/HQs from mobile to TR if not in D/E/F modes already and try for overruns- surround 16,17 and the Petriano pocket as you can. For 16,17 with such minimal firepower I break units down to plug 15,17 and 17,18 so they can recombine at the average of 3 MP allowances, which doesn’t cripple MPs as much as using the whole unit would. 16,17 takes an overrun hit but survives. 12,16 is overrun also. Cnt India Horse cavorts through 5,16 and then gallops off to the hills in 4,14 to isolate 4,15- hopefully the Germans won’t be able to get a surround on this though I couldn’t break it down to cause more havoc as it only gets there if a complete unit and, besides, I need to be careful not to trigger the withdrawal of 3 air units by approaching within 5 hexes of 8,10 or 4 hexes of 7,9 (see Event Editor). All air units back to Interdiction.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) Out in the Wild West, with 4,14 taken via overruns, we need to consolidate gains- with some units in reorg and others trying to clear the road north and Montecalvo in this section of the line, we’re forced to improvise by using engineers as combat troops. Not ideal, but needs must.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Combined Arms (where possible- armor, infantry, direct fire arty) assaults are planned to take 7,16, 8,16, Montecalvo, 12,15, 13,16, Petriano, Montecchio, 15,13, 16,17 and Foglia. We need these towns and associated roads ASAP for movement and supply- with SPGs in all of these, we can count on prolonged combat and if we get 2 rounds of combat, we’ll be doing OK. So we’ll plan on letting Arty do the walking and talking for the 1st Round with broken down (usually 1/3rd) combat units carrying out LA/ML assaults. Turn 2, if we get one, we have to go all out to try to crack the Gothic Line. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4) Given the possibility of only one round we need to look ahead to next turn, particularly in siting arty. Some units indicate a range of 9, but contain 2 types of gun, one of which might only have range 7 (the counter gives you only the longest range ordnance). If these units aren’t in reasonable range of Gothic Line positions, I moved them up and left on TR for Indirect Fire Support only. This might mean around 25% of arty moving and unable to Direct Fire without blowing a few combat rounds- only units with 100% MPs get to go in Round 1- arty or other units. It does also mean we get to keep the ‘rolling barrage’ of Direct Arty on the Gothic Line and beyond next turn.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]5) The Petriano Pocket. A lot of broken down German units here and if I can get them to dance around under a hail of arty in the right direction, some may evaporate due to stacking limitations (9 units per hex max).[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]5) Objectives as last turn: prevent escape of, and destroy, units south of the Foglia and get across the Foglia and into the Gothic Line in as many places as possible with a view to making it untenable as a defensive line.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]6) Some inefficiencies in Movement/Traffic Control, particularly with Engineers to help ford rivers, and units having to backtrack- it’s hard to keep track of so many units and their MP expenditures in such a high density (for Allies anyway) scenario.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Results:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 50% of turn remaining. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1) Again, fighting in the towns in particular proved intensive and prolonged. Petriano alone cleared, though Foglia held only by the 1/1/1st FJs at 1-1, some incredibly brave and desperate feat. Going in they were a 5-4 outfit in good shape, and this battle burnt the 5 rounds, though if you compare the 3rd Karpathian Lancers’ strength (point unit) versus sibling units in the same hex (1st & 2nd) it didn’t lose much other than time.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) 16,17 is history. And we managed to get into the Gothic Line again at 15,13. Great! We’ll reinforce with Carlton & Yorke Regiment. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Casualties now 26-7, reflecting the casualties incurred against a fortified line such as this, coupled with the high Allied Loss Intolerance (3x Germans). [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]File A4R2Start shows positions going into Round 2. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
ROUND 2[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]

1) Again, set all air on CS, all arty/HQs/Navy from mobile to TR if not in D/E/F/TR modes already and try for overruns. None going. Air back to Interdiction.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) I thought wheeling a 31 strength armor unit with tons (literally) of indirect fire support would surely get an overrun against the few- FJs (1-1) in Foglia, but no luck. We’re just gonna have to do it the hard way.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Given Round 1 burnt 50% of the turn and a number of the attacks will be the same, it’s dicey as to whether this will be the last round this turn- so a fair number of units dug in. Some infantry units with higher MP values are left in TR on the off chance that we may get another round.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4) Again we’ll be upping the violence level and attempting major assaults with some entire units- not unit pieces- in Full Attack/Ignore Losses mode and arty in Direct Fire Support in a number of locations to seize the (Gothic Line) hex.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]5) In the Wild West, we need to consolidate and try to protect the Cnt India Horse, still cavorting (I love that word!) around in 4,14 and promising to be a major threat in the German rear next turn- so the bulk of the Indians that can are dug in, arty is moved up to be able to cover 4,14 and far west units. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]6) Attacks on 7,16, 8,16, Montecalvo, 12,15, Montecchio, 15,12, 17,11, 18,11 (Pesaro West). 1 direct bombarded the NW unit on the east coast- no result, but I set the unit on IL, which means it fires 3 missions over 3 rounds. A mistake but as it happens it didn’t make a difference- other combats took 5 rounds- but it could have been the difference between another round and turn end.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]7) Attack on 12,15 is a little devious. These SPGs can really burn a turn- so since they can’t cross a Super River without an engineer, and they can’t retreat to 13,16 (9 unit stacking limit reached already), they should be history as long as they can’t hold against a major assault for 5 rounds, my lads go the distance AND I leave 13,16 alone. Leaving 13,16 alone in the mountains for now is OK, since all the units there have 0 MPs so aren’t going anywhere in the German turn- as Player 2 they don’t get MPs replenished until intra-turn bookkeeping which comes at the end of their turn and the start of the Allied turn.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Results:[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]Turn end as expected, but results good, though a lot not dug in- particularly arty on Direct Fire Support missions.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1) 8,16 taken- road north of bridge cleared. 12,15- SPGs vaporized as expected but took entire turn. 18,11 taken from 1 Motorcycle Squad, 1 AT Squad, 7 MMGs, I Mortar, 1 Truck and a few horses. The rest of the assaulted locations held.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) Casualties 26-8.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Result has now reached a Draw.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Summary: [/FONT][FONT=&quot]13,16 should be gone next turn, completing our goal of destroying units between the Metauro and Foglia Rivers. The Gothic line is compromised and we just need to stretch it really tight at both ends and keep punching in the middle, avoiding coming within 5 hexes of 8,10 or 4 of 7,9 which would result in the withdrawal of our Kittyhawk, Mosquito and Beaufighter air assets- highly useful for Interdiction.[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]N.B.[/FONT][FONT=&quot] File RtR1944A4-2 contains the system generated END_OF_TURN_DO_NOT_SEND_Road to Rimini 1944 A4 ZIP File. RtR1944A4-1 contains the Start and Round Files. Split to keep under 360K limit. [/FONT]
 
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Road to Rimini 1944- Allies Turn 5

[FONT=&quot]TURN 4 RESULTS- GERMANY[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

No German attacks I could see- nada- and probably so they could just move and avoid Air Interdiction (per round and during movement) as much as possible. It seemed to me on Playback that pretty much anything that moved got hit, and then some and a good dose at turn end too for good measure- even those who simply cowered in their trenches throughout the turn. Of c65 moves, I’d guess over a 1/3rd were Allied Air Interdiction strikes.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Our incursions into the Gustav Line remain and out in the Wild West we’re nearly free and clear, so let’s stretch here to force German units to respond. Also let’s try and seize Montecalvo try to break through north and east of Montecchio. Keep out of the 5-hex 8,10 ‘Lose Air Support’ zone.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Losses going in to the turn stand at 26-0 in Allies’ favour with a Draw (-6/100), so still plenty of upside.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]ROUND 1[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

1) Usual SOP with air/arty/naval assets. The pilots are real pros now- the Spitfire and Mustang jocks are at 96% Proficiency, the highest I’ve ever seen. I guess flying low over the terrain here to shoot things up makes you good or dead pretty quick. 4,15 yes- hit, but not destroyed.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) Attacks all along the line wherever I can, except those hexes that would trigger Air Unit Withdrawal, though I do attack 8,15 and 13,13 but these are LA so there’ll be no advance. Mostly LA/ML with Direct Arty Support, but some in harder, like 4,15 and 13,16 which we want gone. Also some arty moved and either dug in or placed on LR- I rarely use this, since an opponent (especially as Player 1) can see which units are on LR and just force the unit with careful attacks to bob backwards and forwards using much of its MPs in the process. Here, it’s doubtful the Germans will attack in their turn given Air Interdiction, so if the turn ends early and they’re still on LR, they may get to use unused MPs to move further towards the front if the Germans attack- as Player 2 I’ll get a full complement of MPs again in the bookkeeping phase anyway.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Air back to Interdiction.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Results:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Turn end- not at all good for Allies. Lots of arty in mobile, and some hexes cleared but reoccupied or vacant. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1) 4,15 gone. 8,15 cleared- LA to ensure no advance because it’s within 5 hexes of the 8,15 ‘Lose Air Support Zone’. 7,16 cleared- LA so no advance. Montecalvo cleared and PzJs retreat to, of course, 8,15- which we’d just cleared- again LA so no advance. 13,13 and 15,12 hold, 13,16 annihilated after 2 rounds of combat. 14,12 holds after 3 rounds of combat, 16,11 after 5 rounds of combat. 17,11 cleared, but no advance due to LA setting, expecting more rounds of combat to plan our advance in and hopefully through.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) A lot of attacks went in at LA/ML settings as we expected another turn to organize our advances as opposed to TOAW deciding who goes in with A/ML+ settings assaults. With the turn gone, we’ll almost certainly end up fighting again for the same real estate next turn, so something of a wasted turn, which we really can’t afford. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4) Casualties now 28-7. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Summary: [/FONT][FONT=&quot]13,16 gone, completing destruction of German units between the Metauro and Foglia Rivers. But with only one round we didn’t achieve as much as we’d hoped against the Gothic Line, and a lot of units are in mobile status. Still a Draw, but all in all pretty disastrous from a ground taken point of view.[/FONT]
 
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Road to Rimini 1944- Allies Turn 6

[FONT=&quot]TURN 5 RESULTS- GERMANY[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

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=&quot]Losses going in to the turn stand at 25-0 in Allies’ favor with a Draw (-5/100).[/FONT]

View attachment 30017

[FONT=&quot]ROUND 1[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

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=&quot]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=&quot]a) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]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=&quot]b) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]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=&quot]c) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]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=&quot]d) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]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=&quot]e) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]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=&quot]f) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]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=&quot]g) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]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=&quot]h) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]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=&quot]i) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]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=&quot]j) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]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=&quot]k) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]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=&quot]l) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]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=&quot]m) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]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=&quot]n) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]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=&quot]o) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Air back to Interdiction.[/FONT]​
[FONT=&quot]Results:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 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=&quot]2) Casualties now 28-0. 36 VPs, up from a -5VP Draw to a MV- not bad going.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]ROUND 2

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]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=&quot]2) No overruns, even with Air on Combat Support.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Results:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 20% of turn remaining. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1) 2,12, 3,13, 8,15, 10,14, 13,13 cleared, with some German units destroyed.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) Casualties now 30-0.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Post-combat we advance into 3,13 and 13,13.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]ROUND 3[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1) No overruns, though we tried. Air to Interdiction.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]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=&quot]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=&quot]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=&quot]Results:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Turn end. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1) 6,15, 8,15, 10,12, 12,13 cleared. (Morciano di Romagna) taken- 1 German gun survived. 15,12 taken.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) Casualties now 31-0.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) 47 VPs now for a Significant Victory. Need to get to 61 for OV. Achievable I believe.
[/FONT]
View attachment 30016

[FONT=&quot]Summary: [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]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=&quot]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]
 
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Road to Rimini 1944- Allies Turn 7

[FONT=&quot]TURN 6 RESULTS- GERMANY[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

Well the DAF certainly went out in style- of 389 movers on Playback, over 130 were Interdiction sorties- around 1/3rd and with a unit or 2 (e.g. 557th Artillery Battalion) evaporated.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Losses going in to the turn stand at 31-0 in Allies’ favor with an SV (47/100). We lost 3rd/1st Household Cavalry in the far north 10 clicks short of Rimini, but it and the 2nd served their purpose in keeping 26th Panzer Division from moving further south down the coast and restricting movement down the Coriano road further west.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]ROUND 1[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

1) Usual SOP with Typhoons on CS to aid in any AVs. Survivors in the Gothic Line seem shattered- we get a number of AVs and are able to herd units into a couple of single hexes (9,12 and 16,11) and a few larger pockets around Gemmano and Mondaino further west, which though not entirely cut off in the case of Gemmano will be extremely difficult to escape from. We’ll try to blow the bridge north of San Marino (2,9) to hinder reinforcement and/or escape. We’ll leave 10,13 alone because we don’t want it retreating into Mondaino.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) The AVs allow for a lot of movement, and we move as much up north as possible- particularly arty concentrated around Cattolica to cover defensively pretty much everything and prepare for assaults next turn.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) I’ve grouped units into 3 main task forces- Indians and some British, mostly infantry, units deal with the West in the hills and mountains, the Canadians deal with the central sector, including bearing down on remaining units in the Gothic Line from the North while British units approach from the South, and the Poles with a lot of British armor head for Rimini along the coast (and block 26th Panzer Division).[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4) Attacks set up against 5,14, 9,12, 9,15, 11,14, 12,12, 16,11. 9,12 and 12,12 are Full Assaults/ML, the remainder LA/ML- the former because they’re almost guaranteed successes, the latter to minimize ‘turn burn’.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]5) SUPPLY- OFTEN IGNORED OR RELEGATED. In moving units, there’s an effort to place in good supply- Road, RR Lines and adjacent to a relevant HQ. May seem minimally important, but over time in a scenario it’s a little like compound interest in that it all adds up without you really noticing. Here, with RRs at 60 supply value (we get RR Repair of 3 which this turn should repair the line all the way up to and including Cattolica (16,10/17,11 are busted too)), it’s quite a considerable boost to supply and readiness levels, hence combat effectiveness, and particularly recce values which are highly useful in attack to make/exploit breakthroughs. Without rail, supply up north would be 15 as it is now in 13,10 for example, with it we’ll get 30-60 odd. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Results:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 90% of turn remaining.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1) Attack results: 5,14 (retreats) 9,12, 9,15, 12,12 (destroyed) 11,14 (holds), 16,11 (holds, 2 units destroyed).[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) Bridge at 2,9 remains- in hindsight probably a mistake given chances (12%) and new German engineers arriving who can repair immediately. I suppose it might take them from another task and zero out their MPs.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Casualties now 33-0. 55 VPs. 6 to go to an OV.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]ROUND 2
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1) More units move up as attack results permit, including more arty now there’s less traffic south and some clearance of German units allows.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Attacks set up against 5,13, 11,14 (Mondaino- 2VPs), 16,11- all LA/ML with the usual Direct Arty Fire Support where possible. Arty units that have moved are placed to cover these hexes as much as possible to be able to provide Indirect Fire Support and defensively support units during the German turn again be wary of ranges, as sometimes a good % of guns are lower range than advertised (9 hex range units particularly). [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Attack against 8,6 with Direct Fire Support from the Navy- all guns ‘reach’. Just to take the edge of their recce unit if possible, though this could be a mistake if it runs too long.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4) Typhoons to interdiction.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Results:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 70% of turn remaining (90% - 2 rounds at 16,11). [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1) Attacks: 8,6- we lost 3 armored cars, the Germans 3 squads and a truck. One round. Okay… 5,13 retreats.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) 16,11 where the SP guns worry me regarding ‘turn burn’- the 2 Nashorns are destroyed but these ****** Semovente 90/53s seem impervious- perhaps we should have left them a way out to give all those reverse gears room for manoeuvre. 2 rounds, 2 evaps (2/1/993 and 2/525). Maybe armor next round (if I get one) will shift them. We took 10% casualties among the infantry here.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Mondaino took some heavy arty pounding but held- one round.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4) Casualties the same. Taking Mondaino and 16,11 will get us to an OV. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]5) VICTORY LEVELS- LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP. I always calculate these before I even start a scenario, to know firstly what I’ve got to keep to avoid an OL, SL, ML and secondly what I might be able to claw back and gain or retain to earn a D, MV, SV and OV. This determines initial strategy, whether offensive or defensive, because there are times when you can set yourself what turns out to be an impossible goal that leads to disaster when more modest expectations might have been fulfilled. Taking Rimini in this scenario is an example given your desperate loss intolerance as the Allies- at this point we could leave Rimini altogether out of the equation and focus on taking Gemmano, Croce and Coriano, then keeping them for a probable OV.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]ROUND 3[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1) Attacks: 3,12, 11,14 (Mondaino), 16,11.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Results:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 20% of turn remaining. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1) 3,12 held. Mondaino vacated by Germans, taking 50% casualties in 2 rounds of combat. At last! [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) 16,11. Semovento 90/53s finally destroyed after 5 rounds of combat. These SPGs plus infantry in towns are killers. As it is the hex is still held by a single- I kid you not- halftrack, even with a flank attack advantage here. We’re lucky to still have time to dig in- and of course launch some final assaults which will only go 1 round…[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Taking Mondaino and 1 extra German LP take us to 61 and an OV.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]ROUND 4[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1) Attacks: 3,12, 4,11, 5,12, 7,12, 7,13 (Gemmano) to start the final assault phase, 10,13, 16,11 to clear. All with Direct Arty Fire Support and Limited with those arty units without the MPs.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) Air on Interdiction- check. Everything else dug in/on TR- check.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Results:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Turn end. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1) 3,12 holds. 4,11 retreated, 5,12 holds, with 2 units retreated to 4,11, 7,12 2/278th Engineers eliminated/units advance. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) 10,13 all units eliminated/unit advances, 16,11 and doing a somewhat incredulous double take here- that single half track survived an infantry/armor multi-brigade 2-round assault with direct arty support. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Gemmano (7,13) vacated- German 2/2/993rd evaporated, but no advance (Limited Attack). 3 Semovente 75/18 SPGs out of 11 destroyed.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Summary: [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Save for one halftrack, Gothic Line finally and completely destroyed. Moves are already afoot in the West to move out of the hills and up the river valleys towards Rimini.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Losses running at 36-1 and 63 VPs for OV.[/FONT]
 
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L`zard

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Re: Road to Rimini 1944- Allies Turn 7

Good Stuff!

Keep it up, eh?

:clown::clown::clown:
 

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Road to Rimini 1944- Allies Turn 8

[FONT=&quot]TURN 7 RESULTS- GERMANY[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

Well, the Typhoons managed around 50 Interdiction sorties. The German 162nd Turcoman Division arrived and moved up as did elements of the 98th Infantry Division. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Losses going in to the turn are down- given replacements- at 31-0 in Allies’ favor leaving us with 59 VPs, an SV 2 short of an OV. We need to recover and gain some margin for error too.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]ROUND 1[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

What to do next? (a) We can occupy Gemmano- giving us 69 VPs and an 8 VP OV margin- and sit tight. (b) We can shoot for Croce and/or Coriano in addition to- or instead of- (a) giving us a different VP margin. Both (a) and/or (b) assume we keep the casualty differential as is and don’t take too many ourselves. (c) Shoot for Rimini over and above (a)/(b) or instead of. (d) Any combination of (a)/(b)/(c).[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I think the best here is to regain and hold our OV, then continue with what worked on the Gothic Line- use Direct Fire arty in support of LA/ML combined arms attacks all along the line but with a particular focus in seizing the VP urban areas- we can occupy Gemmano immediately and have a flank advantage on Coriano and can make an effort to bite off and surround units south near Croce. Then see what targets of opportunity or gaps present regarding Rimini itself- I’d note we’re 20 days (turns) ahead of the historical schedule (Rimini fell September 21st). So:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1) Usual SOP with Typhoons on CS, and arty/navy on TR (if not D/E/F) to try for AVs. We get 1 AV south of Gemmano, another south of Croce (we now have a flank advantage here too), but that ****** half track in 11,16 is still not budging- the crew must be on some sort of WWII PCP-equivalent.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) We’ll try and swing some Gurkhas wide SW of San Marino to draw off a unit- it’s a disproportionate waste of German resource and we’ve got lots to play with. So 2/3 to 0,11 in mobile mode so they don’t get drawn back if 1,12 is attacked and they’re on TR.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Attacks with heavy doses of direct arty wherever possible on every adjacent hex save the German units south of San Marino. Flank attacks where possible also.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Results:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 60% of turn remaining.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1) We seem to have killed a lot of horses, but not a lot of- if any- armor.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) 7,7, 7,9 (Coriano) and 7,10 vacated by the Germans. The half-track in 16,11 finally decided discretion was the better part of valor and surrendered.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Casualties now 34-0. 84 VPs, moving into Coriano and 16,11 for 12 VPs. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]ROUND 2
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1) Attacks set up along the road to San Marino (3,12), 5,12 and 6,10 to clear Croce surrounds, Croce itself to start to clear, 6,7/8 to hit infantry heavy stacks dancing on retreat in the open, and 8,6 (+navy here) to see what we can do up the coast towards Rimini.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) Reinforcements and arty moved up as available/(un)needed, in preparation for arty range/assaults next turn. The detail is difficult to describe, but it’s a balance between what we need to hammer away arty and combined assault – wise and a look ahead at what we might need and where next round or turn.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Typhoons to interdiction.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Results:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Turn end.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1) Attacks: 5,12, Croce, 6,8 successful and hexes vacated. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) I had hoped to get one last round. A last round is often useful because at 20% left you know your lads are only going to go one round, so you can launch those all-important all-out (FA/IL) assaults to seize the hexes you really need knowing your casualties are limited by the one round ‘brake’. As it is you see the halfway house here- hexes abandoned but not seized. Whether the Germans have the MPs to reoccupy, dig in and recover is yet to be seen. It was certainly a characteristic of most of their campaigns against overwhelming odds.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Summary:
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]We have an OV with a comfortable margin now- 82 VPs and 37-5 LPs. If we see an opportunity we’ll take it, otherwise sit tight and hold on. German offensive capability should have been pretty well crippled, and I hope we have enough arty on defensive fire support to make any counterattacks painful.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]As Germans once the Gothic Line was compromised I think I’d have defended behind the rivers using the escarpments. There’s a Terrain Effects Chart (by Kevin Peltz) I find useful and have attached (see also 13.9.7. or search on ‘escarpment’ in manual). But it’s touch and go here for the Germans and every hex between here and Rimini is vital to them- in particular to inflict casualties on the Allies- so as Allies try to find ways to use this against them.[/FONT]
 
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Road to Rimini 1944- Allies Turn 9

[FONT=&quot]TURN 8 RESULTS- GERMANY[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

Catastrophe in the Cornfield at 7,7. We pushed the boat out here (literally) to get out and about towards Rimini, but left an early turn-end not entrenched and with a pile-up behind us waiting to go. Once hit, units had nowhere to run, though the 6th Lwów Regiment hung in there. The rest got caught short on the river bank- details sketchy though the Poles started off the offensive under-strength, perhaps post-Monte Cassino.[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]But one way or another there will be payback for this. Though it is a historical Allied mistake- overconfidence, hubris, the stupidity in hindsight of 9-deep stacks in the rear in anticipation of a walkover, resulting in disaster when a clever opponent turns that deal against you. Mea culpa. We do however still hold 7,7 at some considerable cost.[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]Losses going in to the turn are 36-0 in Allies’ favour, which would tend to show that our arty strategy even post-7,7 is the correct one. VPs 86- still OV and though 7,7 hurt, in the scheme of things little damage.[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]Let’s just keep hammering away with arty and see what that opens up, if anything. Otherwise what have we got to lose?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]ROUND 1[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

We are going to hit them hard. The Poles in particular took a beating, and personally liking the lads myself, we’re going to try hard to hammer the opposition.[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]1) Usual SOP with Typhoons on CS, and arty/navy on TR (if not D/E/F) to try for AVs. None- morale is low. But we’re gonna hit them hard.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) Left, nothing doing since nothing worthwhile here, other than San Marino as a nice publicity stunt and views. No wonder Marinus- a stonecutter and clever fellow to boot it would appear, high views and all- decided to settle here. I’ve no such plans.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Attacks with heavy doses of direct arty wherever possible on every adjacent hex save the German units south of San Marino. Flank attacks where possible also.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Results:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 50% of turn remaining.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1) Again, we seem to have killed a lot of horses, but not a lot of armor. We have to stop doing this.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) Croce taken- again. We’re going to keep it this time, though feel free to try to take it back. 5,8 and 5,10 vacated. 2 hexes up the east coast road clear. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Casualties now 44-1. 97 VPs, With Croce taken, catching them in the open really hurt them, and helped us. I’m not sure how bad, but it looked like it hurt- a lot.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4) We got a few AVs down in the valley just short of San Marino, pre-round 2, courtesy of the Saint.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]ROUND 2
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Again, let’s hit hard but with a focus on moving units up for a last ditch assault to try to take Rimini, though I doubt we’ll make it. But no particular need now- we have an OV without it, are well ahead of historical schedule, and why throw the lads' lives away at this point in the war? Typhoons remain on CS- useful addition, but no particular need for Interdiction now. I didn’t even bother trying for AVs this turn, since the German line is so stacked and thick I doubt I’d get any. Much of the arty is on indirect fire support since I need them for any last ditch move on direct fire support. Units in a couple of lines/columns since I don’t want to overstack.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Results:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] End of turn.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1) 5,11 attacked and eliminated. That’s 15 Mark IVs and a ad f other already badly crippled stuff which is a first but probably due to air on CS, for loss of 4 tanks.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) Bombardment of 6,5 but damn- forgot to put in a combat unit too so that’s going take me down to 20% remaining of my turn- or worse- end it. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) Attack 6,6- this worked better. 60% German losses for 7% Allied, but the did hold it.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4) Attack 4,11. Again they held it for 22-3% differential. It’s those damn Semovente SPGs again. I thought I’d got rid of all these further south.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]5) Attack 5,9. Germans hold and lose 16% to Allied 13% (3 Churchills).[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]6) Against Marano, no luck either.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Summary:
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Not a good turn at all. Probably because it’s been a while since I last looked at it. 2 was really stupid, because it meant I couldn’t consolidate any gains. We’ll see.[/FONT]
 
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Road to Rimini 1944- Allies Turn 10

[FONT=&quot]TURN 9 RESULTS- GERMANY[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

Just regrouping it seems to me with a view to just holding Rimini.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]ROUND 1[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

This may sound strange, but I’m just gonna do nada. Just a few AVs, dig in, the reinforcements down south are useless given what I’ve got except the arty which can’t make it anyway.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I can’t I believe take Rimini in a turn, and at this point in the war discretion seems the better part of valor. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Besides why waste lads’ lives on both sides when it’s clear which way the wind is going.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The only thing I’ll do is a final salvo from the RN (6,4) and Air Support on CS, in case he comes back- it’s doubtful he’s gonna move much.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I’d then regroup and ask for conditional surrender.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I could be wrong though.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Results:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Not much- 2%. 70% of turn left.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]ROUND 2
[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Repeat. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Results:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 2% again. Just killing horses, not my cup of tea. 50% of turn left.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]ROUND 3

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Repeat. But 7,5 now.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Results:[/FONT][FONT=&quot] 6%, but again mostly just killing horses. 30% of turn left.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Let’s call it a day. Air on CS at IL, just in case.[/FONT]
 
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Road to Rimini 1944- Allies Turn 11

[FONT=&quot]GAME OVER[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Last gasp assaults, which hurt as you can see.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Thank you to my opponent- a pleasure.

Result- Allied OV with 99/100 points.

Axis held objectives 23, casualties 49,

Allied held objectives 77, casualties 4.

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]POST MORTEM[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

IMO for Germans key is to keep digging multiple lines all the time and siting arty for maximum impact both on defense and offensively against large red stacks in the open- Think Monte Cassino of which the Gothic Line was a part at the western end. Break units 3 so you've one in the line and two digging and resting at any one time- you need a big hole blown in my head like a hole in it. And anticipate Alllies' feints and real intentions. Play for time and their casualties without any expensive counterattacks, in which you will or should get mown down. .

For Allies it's sort of the reverse. Keep advancing ASAP so they can't dig in effectively and use arty in direct support offensively, but mostly on targets on roads and objectives or on the way. Bypass what you can- you've so many troops you never really get to use in the rear anyway except their arty assets. And all air on interdiction is a delight to watch on a replay turn early unless you've a desperate bridge to blow to delay reinforcements in which case everything back on interdiction at turn end.
[/FONT]
 
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