And here is the other mirrored battle with ER. This time I had the indomitable popovs to work with. I’m not going into too much detail with this one but have a number of pics I can post to go along with a little commentary. What this game will illustrate is the different styles / principles between ER and I when we played the Germans.
The params were the exact same as the one where I have the Germans. This time as Russians I took:
2 x rifle coy
1 x pioneer coy
3 x 81mm FOs
3 x T34 plts
2 x T70 plts
2 x 45mm ATG
A handful of ACs
A few transport for guns.
And perhaps a few other things I may have forgotten.
The basic plan for the Russians was similar to my German one. Advance up the road, fan out the tanks as the town is neared and engage the Germans. However, I was a good deal more diligent with the Russian armor at first, since I knew under these params, the Germans can field lots of cheap T34-killing Marders.
Again, ER surprised me; some lead German PzIIIs were run into in the heart of the town. I didn’t expect ER to race up tanks. Both sides returned fire. The Russians lost a few ACs darting for cover and a T70. ER lost but a single tank, while numerous 76mm rounds clanged off the front plate of a few PzIIIs, all refusing to find the lower hull.
Surprisingly, ER backed off. A few tank markers were detected on the other sides of small hills and behind houses, but the Germans didn’t come out and engage in force. The Russians swung around both sides of the town. German tank riders that had made it into the town were fired upon uncontested and were routed. Following behind the fleeing Germans were the Russians tank rides and soon the valiant potato farmers occupied the town center
Turn 4 shows the sharp little spat as both sides’ lead elements collide in the town. The Russians flow to the sides of the town, not wanting to engage an expected rush of German tank plts head on. This enemy force never materialized.
As with the other fight, the bulk of my infantry is far, far away. And just like the other fight, I decide to slow any further moves until I can get the infantry up and into the fray. I wanted to give the peasants a chance to use their shiny new rifles. Another reason to slow things down a bit was the threat of the Marders. I was sure ER was going to wait for me to come to him and I didn’t want to accommodate him so early in the game. I’d wait a while before I’d follow him around the ring
The params were the exact same as the one where I have the Germans. This time as Russians I took:
2 x rifle coy
1 x pioneer coy
3 x 81mm FOs
3 x T34 plts
2 x T70 plts
2 x 45mm ATG
A handful of ACs
A few transport for guns.
And perhaps a few other things I may have forgotten.
The basic plan for the Russians was similar to my German one. Advance up the road, fan out the tanks as the town is neared and engage the Germans. However, I was a good deal more diligent with the Russian armor at first, since I knew under these params, the Germans can field lots of cheap T34-killing Marders.
Again, ER surprised me; some lead German PzIIIs were run into in the heart of the town. I didn’t expect ER to race up tanks. Both sides returned fire. The Russians lost a few ACs darting for cover and a T70. ER lost but a single tank, while numerous 76mm rounds clanged off the front plate of a few PzIIIs, all refusing to find the lower hull.
Surprisingly, ER backed off. A few tank markers were detected on the other sides of small hills and behind houses, but the Germans didn’t come out and engage in force. The Russians swung around both sides of the town. German tank riders that had made it into the town were fired upon uncontested and were routed. Following behind the fleeing Germans were the Russians tank rides and soon the valiant potato farmers occupied the town center
Turn 4 shows the sharp little spat as both sides’ lead elements collide in the town. The Russians flow to the sides of the town, not wanting to engage an expected rush of German tank plts head on. This enemy force never materialized.
As with the other fight, the bulk of my infantry is far, far away. And just like the other fight, I decide to slow any further moves until I can get the infantry up and into the fray. I wanted to give the peasants a chance to use their shiny new rifles. Another reason to slow things down a bit was the threat of the Marders. I was sure ER was going to wait for me to come to him and I didn’t want to accommodate him so early in the game. I’d wait a while before I’d follow him around the ring