Doug Leslie
Elder Member
Latest FNF scenario was FrF23 "Elephants Unleashed" against Paul Legg. I already did an AAR on this scenario where it was J118 but it is basically the same thing. This was the first time that I was to play the same scenario twice against an actual opponent and, having played it about six months previously, I had the advantage of familiarity compared to Paul who had played it many years ago. For those who are interested, this is how game one went.
Elephants Unleashed | GameSquad Forums
In the first game I was playing the Germans but this time I was getting the chance to play the opposite side which was obviously preferable from my perspective. Had I been allocated the Germans for this one, I would have offered to swap if Paul wished to do so.
Anyhow, this was my opening set up.
Ideally, I would have liked to put wire in 33T10 and U10, AT mines in S9/T8 and possibly AP mines in R8/S8, both of which need to be captured if the Russians go for the building control victory option. The problem is that the Germans get to place three contiguous shell holes which will eliminate all fortifications in/adjacent to them. I guessed that Paul would place these precisely where he did and decided to place the mines and wire further back. I decided not to put the HMG in the board 33 farm buildings and, instead placed it with a 447 in 44O4. There is no way that the farm buildings can be held against a determined German assault and I figured that I should try to preserve this valuable weapon. From O4, it offers coverage of the open ground around 33Q10. I wanted to get a T34 into 33Q7, so placed AT mines either side of it to discourage German AFVs from getting too close. The 8-0 in P8 was there to try to rally any units routing out of the farm buildings.
When I saw Paul's set up, I assumed that he was trying for the exit rush option. However, he had other ideas. The two AFVs at the top of board 33 (which is actually the west edge) ran to the 33O5 orchard clump with a view to relying on the "8 morale" of the German infantry to allow it to survive bailing out and thereafter assault the farm from opposite sides. Unfortunately for him, this was going to one be of those games where the dice were not on his side and one 468 broke in 33Q4. It would play no further part in the battle. An 8-1 SMC and 468 did manage to dismount safely in Q3 and two AFVs parked in P3 and P4. The ATR in R6 was to have several unsuccessful rear shots at these guys.
Now a PzIII N with 468 riders waltzed boldly through the P1 minefield en route to 44O2. The riders thumbed their noses at Russian defensive fire only to break when the Panzer swung its turret to knock them off. Bailing out was not Paul's forte in this one. His run of bad luck continued when an Elephant malfunctioned its MA when attempting a bounding fire shot from 33T7.
End of German Turn
I felt that I was off to a good start at this point. Two German squads were broken as a result of failing the bailing out MCs and were unlikely to return. One Elephant was without its main gun. The only concern at this point was that the HMG position was acquired by two AFVs and had nowhere safe to skulk to.
In the Russian turn, the first armoured reinforcements arrived. I ran a T34 to the Q7 walled enclosure, and was careful to stay at least 7 hexes away from the MkIV in 33P3. It duly missed its shot before the T34 left its CA. The PzIIIN failed to penetrate the Russian tanks' armour and it safely reached the comparative safety of Q7. The remaining T34s entered and dropped off riders near the victory locations on board 44. In defensive fire, the Elephant in 44V3 appeared to miss its shot at the HMG only for the 10-2 armour leader to reveal himself to turn the miss into a hit. Luckily the ensuing IFT DR produced boxcars but the HMG squad was in a very uncomfortable position. In advancing fire, a T-34 in 44K3 managed to shock the PZIII N in 44O2. A concealed 447 in 33S8 was hoping to take out the Elephant with the malfunctioned MA but failed its PAATC. The HMG decided to chance an advance into 44O3 and hope that the shocked PzIII stayed that way. At least it was no longer acquired by the killer Elephant.
End of Turn One
German Turn 2
Paul's ill fortune continued when the PzIII in 33P6 tried to fire smoke into Q7. A DR of 8 was the worst possible outcome- it had smoke but missed the target. The shocked tank became an unconfirmed kill, much to the relief of the adjacent 447 manning the HMG. The MkIV tried to take out the Q7 tank but its shot found nothing but wall. German infantry advanced towards the farm without any ill effect. To the East, a 467 reached 44R3 safely and another 467 with a 9-1 leader ran onto the wire in O2. Defensive first fire from the HMG broke the SMC but the squad survived unscathed. The 10-2 armour leader now started up his Elephant, trundled forward unscathed into the P3 AT minefield and stopped. This persuaded the T-34 in J4 to go into motion and spin towards the East. Sadly, the adjacent HMG squad didn't have that option!
One of the reasons why I won with the Germans in my first playing of this scenario was that the Russians failed every APCR attempt. That was not to be the case in this one. The T-34 in Q8 fired an APCR round at the PZIII in P4 and set it ablaze. The T-34 in K3 didn't have APCR but did generate a possible shock against the UK PZIIIN in O2. It might have been better if it had failed this but Paul chose this moment to roll a 2 and the UK counter remained in place. The Germans then delivered a lot of ineffective advancing fire (including hitting the HMG squad with an 88mm shell only for it to pass the resultant morale check) which generated a baby sniper attack on 33U10 that fatally wounded the 8-1 leader there. The accompanying squad then proceeded to fail its LLMC. Ouch!
End of German Turn
Russian Turn Two
The Russians received reinforcements on this turn in the shape of two SU-152s. Things got off to a good start when the UK PZIII became a confirmed kill. In Prep, the ATG squad in 33R6 again failed to damage the MKIV but did succeed in breaking the 8-1 leader in P5. In what had become an inauspicious day for the German officer corps, every German officer in the starting OB was now either dead or broken. Now the T-34 in Q7 found another APCR round that struck the MkIV in the hull side and destroyed it. The crew survived but that was scant consolation. The T-34 then used its free CMG spin to point towards the R7 building. The intention was to blast any Germans that entered that location and make it very difficult for them to clear the building.
To the East, the HMG squad assault moved into the hex containing the recently destroyed Mk III and survived first fire from the 467 on the wire in Q2. Paul opted not to fire the dm HMG at this point, as he hoped to be able to assemble it.
At this point, I think that I went wrong. What I probably should have done was try to swarm the Elephant in P3 in order to divert it from firing at the building in M3. I should have induced it to spin its CA to defend against a T-34 attack from its rear and then move the SU-152 to a HD position in L3. Instead, I just had the Russian armour take up defensive positions out of sight of the Elephant and failed to put it under any immediate pressure.
In defensive fire, Paul changed his mind about assembling the HMG and fired instead at the Russian HMG squad. That failed to have any effect but he finally nailed it with a 6+2 shot from Q4 and it broke. Suddenly Paul's dice were starting to warm up and another defensive fire shot broke a squad in 33R7. This angered the Russian sniper which wounded the already broken SMC in 33P5. This bit of luck was negated when a T-34 in 44K5 tried to acquire Q2 and broke its MA. Further misfortune occurred in the CCPh when a 6-2-8 and 7-0 ambushed the broken 468 in 44M1 only to gack the CC attack with a DR of 10. I decided to chance moving my 9-1 leader into M3 with a view to trying to rally the broken 447 there. I also advanced a concealed 628 there which turned out to be a risk that didn't pay off.
End of Turn Two
The 9-1 managed to rally the DM 447 in MM3 and I was mentally giving myself a pat on the back. Then the Elephant in P3 opened up. It needed a DR of 5 to hit the concealed 628 and it proceeded to do just that and also retain ROF. After the ensuing carnage, every unit in the location broke with two casualty reductions and an ELR reduction into the bargain. Now that building was in play as a victory location. At this point, Paul decided to try to run the S10 Elephant to that area together with an 8-3-8 in armoured assault. I assume that he intended to reinforce the melee in 44M1. The problem was that the T-34 now managed to find its third APCR round followed by a DR of 3 to flame it. At this point he conceded.
The star of the show was the T-34 in the walled enclosure which singlehandedly destroyed three German AFVs and was still poised to take out any Germans that advanced into the main farm building. Its ability to find APCR every time of asking was a huge factor here. As the Germans, I might have played on to see if the two German squads in 44S6 might manage to clear the defenders from the R6 building but they clearly had an uphill task.
The DR charts make grim reading for the Germans.
Paul never once complained about his poor dice and was, once again, a pleasure to play against.
Elephants Unleashed | GameSquad Forums
In the first game I was playing the Germans but this time I was getting the chance to play the opposite side which was obviously preferable from my perspective. Had I been allocated the Germans for this one, I would have offered to swap if Paul wished to do so.
Anyhow, this was my opening set up.
Ideally, I would have liked to put wire in 33T10 and U10, AT mines in S9/T8 and possibly AP mines in R8/S8, both of which need to be captured if the Russians go for the building control victory option. The problem is that the Germans get to place three contiguous shell holes which will eliminate all fortifications in/adjacent to them. I guessed that Paul would place these precisely where he did and decided to place the mines and wire further back. I decided not to put the HMG in the board 33 farm buildings and, instead placed it with a 447 in 44O4. There is no way that the farm buildings can be held against a determined German assault and I figured that I should try to preserve this valuable weapon. From O4, it offers coverage of the open ground around 33Q10. I wanted to get a T34 into 33Q7, so placed AT mines either side of it to discourage German AFVs from getting too close. The 8-0 in P8 was there to try to rally any units routing out of the farm buildings.
When I saw Paul's set up, I assumed that he was trying for the exit rush option. However, he had other ideas. The two AFVs at the top of board 33 (which is actually the west edge) ran to the 33O5 orchard clump with a view to relying on the "8 morale" of the German infantry to allow it to survive bailing out and thereafter assault the farm from opposite sides. Unfortunately for him, this was going to one be of those games where the dice were not on his side and one 468 broke in 33Q4. It would play no further part in the battle. An 8-1 SMC and 468 did manage to dismount safely in Q3 and two AFVs parked in P3 and P4. The ATR in R6 was to have several unsuccessful rear shots at these guys.
Now a PzIII N with 468 riders waltzed boldly through the P1 minefield en route to 44O2. The riders thumbed their noses at Russian defensive fire only to break when the Panzer swung its turret to knock them off. Bailing out was not Paul's forte in this one. His run of bad luck continued when an Elephant malfunctioned its MA when attempting a bounding fire shot from 33T7.
End of German Turn
I felt that I was off to a good start at this point. Two German squads were broken as a result of failing the bailing out MCs and were unlikely to return. One Elephant was without its main gun. The only concern at this point was that the HMG position was acquired by two AFVs and had nowhere safe to skulk to.
In the Russian turn, the first armoured reinforcements arrived. I ran a T34 to the Q7 walled enclosure, and was careful to stay at least 7 hexes away from the MkIV in 33P3. It duly missed its shot before the T34 left its CA. The PzIIIN failed to penetrate the Russian tanks' armour and it safely reached the comparative safety of Q7. The remaining T34s entered and dropped off riders near the victory locations on board 44. In defensive fire, the Elephant in 44V3 appeared to miss its shot at the HMG only for the 10-2 armour leader to reveal himself to turn the miss into a hit. Luckily the ensuing IFT DR produced boxcars but the HMG squad was in a very uncomfortable position. In advancing fire, a T-34 in 44K3 managed to shock the PZIII N in 44O2. A concealed 447 in 33S8 was hoping to take out the Elephant with the malfunctioned MA but failed its PAATC. The HMG decided to chance an advance into 44O3 and hope that the shocked PzIII stayed that way. At least it was no longer acquired by the killer Elephant.
End of Turn One
German Turn 2
Paul's ill fortune continued when the PzIII in 33P6 tried to fire smoke into Q7. A DR of 8 was the worst possible outcome- it had smoke but missed the target. The shocked tank became an unconfirmed kill, much to the relief of the adjacent 447 manning the HMG. The MkIV tried to take out the Q7 tank but its shot found nothing but wall. German infantry advanced towards the farm without any ill effect. To the East, a 467 reached 44R3 safely and another 467 with a 9-1 leader ran onto the wire in O2. Defensive first fire from the HMG broke the SMC but the squad survived unscathed. The 10-2 armour leader now started up his Elephant, trundled forward unscathed into the P3 AT minefield and stopped. This persuaded the T-34 in J4 to go into motion and spin towards the East. Sadly, the adjacent HMG squad didn't have that option!
One of the reasons why I won with the Germans in my first playing of this scenario was that the Russians failed every APCR attempt. That was not to be the case in this one. The T-34 in Q8 fired an APCR round at the PZIII in P4 and set it ablaze. The T-34 in K3 didn't have APCR but did generate a possible shock against the UK PZIIIN in O2. It might have been better if it had failed this but Paul chose this moment to roll a 2 and the UK counter remained in place. The Germans then delivered a lot of ineffective advancing fire (including hitting the HMG squad with an 88mm shell only for it to pass the resultant morale check) which generated a baby sniper attack on 33U10 that fatally wounded the 8-1 leader there. The accompanying squad then proceeded to fail its LLMC. Ouch!
End of German Turn
Russian Turn Two
The Russians received reinforcements on this turn in the shape of two SU-152s. Things got off to a good start when the UK PZIII became a confirmed kill. In Prep, the ATG squad in 33R6 again failed to damage the MKIV but did succeed in breaking the 8-1 leader in P5. In what had become an inauspicious day for the German officer corps, every German officer in the starting OB was now either dead or broken. Now the T-34 in Q7 found another APCR round that struck the MkIV in the hull side and destroyed it. The crew survived but that was scant consolation. The T-34 then used its free CMG spin to point towards the R7 building. The intention was to blast any Germans that entered that location and make it very difficult for them to clear the building.
To the East, the HMG squad assault moved into the hex containing the recently destroyed Mk III and survived first fire from the 467 on the wire in Q2. Paul opted not to fire the dm HMG at this point, as he hoped to be able to assemble it.
At this point, I think that I went wrong. What I probably should have done was try to swarm the Elephant in P3 in order to divert it from firing at the building in M3. I should have induced it to spin its CA to defend against a T-34 attack from its rear and then move the SU-152 to a HD position in L3. Instead, I just had the Russian armour take up defensive positions out of sight of the Elephant and failed to put it under any immediate pressure.
In defensive fire, Paul changed his mind about assembling the HMG and fired instead at the Russian HMG squad. That failed to have any effect but he finally nailed it with a 6+2 shot from Q4 and it broke. Suddenly Paul's dice were starting to warm up and another defensive fire shot broke a squad in 33R7. This angered the Russian sniper which wounded the already broken SMC in 33P5. This bit of luck was negated when a T-34 in 44K5 tried to acquire Q2 and broke its MA. Further misfortune occurred in the CCPh when a 6-2-8 and 7-0 ambushed the broken 468 in 44M1 only to gack the CC attack with a DR of 10. I decided to chance moving my 9-1 leader into M3 with a view to trying to rally the broken 447 there. I also advanced a concealed 628 there which turned out to be a risk that didn't pay off.
End of Turn Two
The 9-1 managed to rally the DM 447 in MM3 and I was mentally giving myself a pat on the back. Then the Elephant in P3 opened up. It needed a DR of 5 to hit the concealed 628 and it proceeded to do just that and also retain ROF. After the ensuing carnage, every unit in the location broke with two casualty reductions and an ELR reduction into the bargain. Now that building was in play as a victory location. At this point, Paul decided to try to run the S10 Elephant to that area together with an 8-3-8 in armoured assault. I assume that he intended to reinforce the melee in 44M1. The problem was that the T-34 now managed to find its third APCR round followed by a DR of 3 to flame it. At this point he conceded.
The star of the show was the T-34 in the walled enclosure which singlehandedly destroyed three German AFVs and was still poised to take out any Germans that advanced into the main farm building. Its ability to find APCR every time of asking was a huge factor here. As the Germans, I might have played on to see if the two German squads in 44S6 might manage to clear the defenders from the R6 building but they clearly had an uphill task.
The DR charts make grim reading for the Germans.
Paul never once complained about his poor dice and was, once again, a pleasure to play against.
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