Task Force Lovelady

SoccerDJ

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Task Force Lovelady AAR

This is a current game that I am playing against John Given. So hopefully he won’t look at it while we are still playing :) The scenario is Task Force Lovelady and is set in Europe. I hope to give a brief description of each turn along with screen shots. At the conclusion any comments and/or advice would be great.

DJ



Written By- SoccerDJ-Axis

Opponent- John Given -Allies

Ground- Soft

Visibility- 12

Length- 12 turns

First Side- Allies



Scenario Date- 15 September, 1944



Scenario Description- Mausbach, 12km E of Aachen, Germany: [Best played against Human opponent] While in the north the British were preparing for Operation Market-Garden, further south the Americans were knocking on Germany's door. With the decision to bypass Aachen, the plan of the US VII Corps called for a frontal attack by armor to sweep through the West Wall defenses south of the city then a northward sweep to complete the encirclement. By September 14th CCB/3rd Armored Division had penetrated deeply into the West Wall and was poised to drive north. At Roetgen, CCB split into two task forces with TF King advancing toward Stolberg, while on the right TF Lovelady was to fight its way to Eschweiler. By noon on the 15th, Colonel Lovelady's tired GIs prepared to cross the Vicht River and drive through the last positions of the Schill Line and into the open ground around Mausbach and Gressenich. German reserves were nearly exhausted. However, a scratch force from the shattered 9th Panzer Division, 105th Panzer and 394th Assault Gun Brigades was ordered south to blunt the American attack.



Turn 1: I find that I have a machine gun platoon, mortar unit, and two rifle platoons near the bottom of the map right at the American’s assembly point. I see a lot of enemy movement. Some infantry but mostly medium tanks, a few mobile artillery units and some scout cars going of to my right flank. In the process of his movement my machine gun platoon is eliminated after firing at some passing infantry. The other units survive and I begin to with draw them to the north although I doubt I will be able to out run his tanks. To the north I bring on reinforcements but doesn’t seem to be enough. Hopefully the rest of the promised reinforcements will arrive on time. I do have a nice 88 flak gun up on a high hill in the middle of the map that will hopefully slow his progress once he is in sight. Hopefully he won’t be able to destroy it with his artillery.

 

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Turn 2: Well I was right, he got my mortar while it was loaded on the truck but my two rile platoons escaped with out becoming cannon fodder but who knows how long that will last. My 88 up on the hill got two shots off and disrupted two of his forward tanks. However now that I’ve exposed my gun he could sight his arty on it so hopefully I can kill of his forward units next turn. Other then that most of his units are not longer in my LOS so I have no idea what he is doing. The good thing is I received a big group of reinforcements this turn. My problem is not knowing where to send them yet as I don’t know where he will attack or where I will need them. So I think I’ll send my scouts to probe and see where he is going to bring his main attack. Then I’ll commit my troops appropriately. Although I think that I might set up a good defensive position at the objective hex on my right flank (left side of the map). So we will see who gets there first.
 

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Turn 3: Well his tanks are going to be a big problem. They took some shots at my 88 and got disruptions. So now I am going to try to move it off that hill next turn. I just hope that he didn’t plot too much artillery on the hill as my transport will be destroyed. Other then that I just hear him moving his troops around. I see a few tanks moving forward but that is all. My rifle platoon on my right flank was destroyed. My troops are en route to the victory hex on my right flank as well. I have a tank and a fatigued infantry unit there in case we need to slow down the enemy before the rest of my men can arrive. I have a feeling this will be the spot of a major engagement. I’ll just have to see where he positions his troops.
 

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Turn 4: Well like I predicted his artillery barrage destroyed my transport that I sent to withdraw my 88. Then during the turn op fire got the best of my 88 so I’ve lost that advantage in the middle of the map. I was counting on that to hold his advance at bay for a little while. So now the fun will begin. I have control and am beginning to set up a defensive perimeter around the victory hex on my right flank. So if he attacks I hope to be able to hold that hex destroy a lot of his tanks. My problem will be if he decides to attack up the middle. But I will just have to let that play out. Also if you notice on my left flank I have a good number armored cars try to get into his rear area. My hope is to keep them hidden until I think his commits to an attack and then bring them around behind and hopefully catch HQ and artillery units unaware.
 

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Turn 5: My enemy’s artillery is really starting to bug me. This turn it wiped out a rifle platoon and its leader. Also I found that he has more thanks then I thought he did. So I am going to have to make a good stand on my right flank as he is bringing up his tanks to take it. My anti-tank gun is in place and I have my two tiger tanks in position to try and repel his tanks but I don’t know how that’s going to go. On my left flan my armored cars still try to move around his flank but my lead car was discovered by an enemy scout car and I think I saw infantry units moving in the woods. So I might not get a chance to get in behind him. So far he has not made any advances on the middle hill or my left flank so I might consider send troops over to my right flank nearer to the end of the game.
 

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Turn 6: Thankfully no damage done by enemy artillery this turn. Now its his tanks that are causing the trouble. He has a least three groups of medium tanks and a lot armored cars and a few light tanks. He probed forward on my right flank to see what I have defending the victory hex there. I ended up losing 2 transports and my antitank gun and I only killed one armored car. He also sent two light tanks to try and take the hill in the middle of the map but they met with some resistance and by the end of my turn one of them was destroyed and the other disrupted. Also on my left flank he move one group of medium tanks forward and has another group sitting behind them on a objective hex. This is very smart of him so he can see what develops when he sends his tanks forward. I hope to destroy his first group of tanks with an ambush by my two Stugs that hidden in the woods waiting for his tanks to cross the open ground. Then if he brings up the second group to support them I hope to be able to destroy them in the same way or at least slow his advance down. My armored cars that are set to infiltrate his rear remain in the same place because I saw infantry moving by in the woods and I want to make sure he isn’t sending them around my flank. My task now is to destroy his tanks without losing mine and I only have 3.
 

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Turn 7: Well no screenshot for this turn as my computer crashed when I went to paste it into paint. However, that’s not my major concern. In this turn the allies pressed forward hard. The one light tank continues to harass my units on the hill in the middle. His two medium Sherman tank groups are moving in on my units on my left flank and will soon overrun them and I fear there is nothing I can do. My armored cars running around his flank were discovered by infantry and are held up at the moment try to fight the infantry in the woods which does not go well for these vehicles. The only good news comes from my right flank where I was able to destroy 2 armored cars and almost kill the third. However he has some Wolverines and a few other tanks just waiting to over run my position. My only hope is for my three tanks on that flank to be able to hold and destroy his tanks. This turn could be the turning point in the battle.
 

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Turn 8: My enemy continues to press me on every front. On my left flank he has two tank groups just taking pot shots at my rear units which I thought where out of his LOS. However to take these shots he had to move into open ground next to a village hex where I moved infantry and was able to cause some disruptions of his tanks. But he just has to many for me to even consider assaulting. My armored car run is turning into a stand still as he has infantry place nicely in my way and I can’t see them until I am right next to them which lets them take some nasty shots at my units. I may just have to abandon that part of my plan. On the center hill his light tank is still harassing my units but is not a huge threat and hopefully my infantry on the hill can deal with it. On my right flank I am fairing a little better and am surprised that after I revealed the locations of my tanks he didn’t bring over at least one group of his tanks. I’ve destroyed all his armored cars and disrupted two Wolverine tanks. But I caught a glimpse of infantry including 3 engineering units advancing under the cover of smoke. I have a feeling this will cause problems in the next couple of turns as he will simply overrun the town because he can just send unit after unit against mine. With only four more turns left this could either stay at a stalemate or turn very bad very quickly for me.
 

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Turn 9: Well the stalemate continues as I have decided to just let then enemy come to me and then I’ll dictate what happens. On my left flank his tanks moved back out of range of my infantry and are just content to sit there and take pot shots at anything that sticks its head out. My armored car task force is slowly being destroyed as it was ambushed by more infantry and halftracks. I under estimated their attacking power and their armor. So they no long pose a threat to his rear area. On the middle hill his light tank is still harassing my troops but I did manage to disrupt it this turn. I am still surprised that he has not sent a group of tanks to totally destroy my remaining units on that hill. I thought that his light tank had seen that I only have 3 weak infantry units guarding it. Maybe this oversight by my enemy will help. On my right flank he has advanced some infantry into the town and I know more is on the way. However he did make the mistake of leaving his mobile artillery units in my sight so I got off shots at all three of them causing disruptions and losses. But I m still worried that the town and victory hex will be overrun just by the sheer number of men he has. 3 more turns time is running out.
 

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Turn 10: Well this turn was just a major blow to my forces. On my left flank he continues to harass my visible troops with his two tank groups. He also is moving one tank up behind my lines to take the rear victory hexes. My armored car task force was able to destroy some of the enemy transport units but it just seems that for everyone I kill he kills one. In the middle the light tank just seems to be hanging around to make sure he controls the victory hex on top of the hill. His other tanks are doing a good job of protecting the light tank so my units can’t get close to it with out getting attacked. On my right flank is where the really bad news is. Like I said he would, his troops overran my town with sheer numbers so I decided to cut my losses and withdraw as there was no hope on recapturing the town. So I’m withdrawing my infantry into the woods and taking my tanks around behind the hill to defend the rear victory hexes and hopefully get take back one of the victory hexes. With only two more turns I think that allies pretty much have this battle won.
 

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Turn 11: Well not much difference to report from last turn. On my left flank his two tank groups are waiting for this last turn to move in, take and hold as many victory hexes as they possibly can. My armored car task force destroyed more of his transports and is in a position to make run at his rear victory locations but I have a feeling they are guard well by infantry. On the middle hill the light tank sits and waits holding the ground around that victory hex. I have moved my tanks up the backside of the hill but it is to little to late. My right flank is gone save a lone, disrupted infantry unit, retreating through the woods, soon to be overrun by allies infantry. This last turn will be very humiliating as my enemy will just make the defeat even worse by inflicting his the last possible casualties.
 

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Turn 12: Well there is not much to say. Like I said he would, the enemy took available victory hexes and got his last shots of at me. I was able to take back 2 of the three victory hexes that he took but after surrounding the third one I couldn’t not take it in an assault. My armored car task force was cut to pieces by his tanks which he brought back to take some pot shots. So at the end of the turns my forces laid in shambles and he had complete reign of the battle field. Had this game continued I would have been force to surrender or face a complete massacre.
 

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End Game:

Major Defeat-25 Minor Defeat-150

Minor Victory- 225 Major Victory-350



Allied Major Victory- 395



Well I was beaten soundly as the final score reflects. It’s always hard to finish out a game much less an AAR after being beaten this bad. So first my excuses :) To me this didn’t seem like a very well balanced scenario even though it was made for PBEM. He had about 12 tanks to my 3. Then he had from what I could tell about 10-12 infantry units to my 8. Had he had some nice long range mobile artillery which he used very effectively. It just seemed to me that the whole game he had numbers up. However, I also made a few mistakes that I can see. First I should have withdrawn my big 88 gun at the beginning of the game and placed it where it wouldn’t have been so vulnerable and where I could have covered and supported it with my troops. Also I shouldn’t have rushed out to the victory hex on my right flank and just let him take that hex and come to me. This would allow me to have a better chance to even the numbers. Also my armored task force I sent around to flank him was a failure and a waste of resources. While maybe a good idea they would have been more help back on my side of the map. Other then that I am still wondering where it all went wrong. So now that I’ve completed this AAR I would appreciate any comments, suggestions, and comments. Make them on anything from my writing, screenshots, or tactical decisions.

DJ
 
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John Given

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Great aar!

First of all DJ, you kicked major butt during this game. I just checked the end game file you sent me...you had an excellent spread of units, and if you had captured that 3rd town hex, which I fear you nearly did, it would have lowered me to a minor victory. (I ended with 395 points, but the loss of the last town would have put me at 345, just shy of major victory, so it was a close game)

Second, taking 2 out of 3 victory hexes, especially considering the shape your force was in, is commendable. :cool:

Third, the reason I didn't do more than I did, is because you make excellent use of the tanks available to you.

Fourth, this is a great aar, and even included sceenshots - I don't even know how to post screenshots, so consider yourself better off than me on using computers. ;)

Fifth, your infantry just didn't quit. I took many casualties during that game from your infantry...sneaky little guys, heh.


And finally, I agree, this scenario is a *bit* unbalanced. IMO, the most realistic "fixes" would be to put the bunkers in the TOWNS, and give the German two or three more infantry platoons, but no more than that. Artillery was adequate, german tanks were certainly adequate (I never even scratched those PzV's, and I tried again and again without so much as a dispersal)

Oh by the way, here is what I learned. I was not aggressive enough with my tanks late in the game. They should have been "go-getters," but instead turned into armored security guards. Moving those jumbo shermans decisively and early (to occupy the objectives) would have allowed me to secure BOTH of the hexes you took from me.

Also, I should have learned when to guit - continuing to pound away at the Panthers with those 75mm cannons (on the jumbos) was pure futility. It cost me time, and a few of my best tanks. Their ammo would have been much better spend on something they COULD kill.

So again, thanks for a great aar...and a great game! :cheeky:
 
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