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A German Long Campaign--Tentative Start

 
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A German Long Campaign--Tentative Start - 10/29/2004 12:47:14 AM   
KG Erwin


Posts: 8981
Joined: 7/25/2000
From: Cross Lanes WV USA
Status: offline 		I put my USMC campaign aside for the moment, and decided to play as the Germans for a change.

The following observations are for the benefit of robot, who still uses 7.1 for his long campaigns.

Kampfgruppe Erwin uses a formation-customized 8.3 OOB, with two reinforced Schutzenkompanie and a 30-tank Panzerkompanie, plus two sections of FlakPz, a Pionier Zug, and two custom-made Aufklarungs Abteilungen. This uses 3098 of my alloted default level of 3100 points (true troop ON, rarity OFF).

The first battle is a defend mission against the Poles, on a narrow 2000-yard front. It is raining, and visibility is 1 hex. Yikes! Off-board support is a battalion of 150s and three battalions of 105s (basically the entire division's assets).

A strange beginning, indeed, as masses of Polish infantry, cavalry and light tanks magically appear directly adjacent to my landsers, MGs, IGs, and ATGs. For the most part, I can quickly drive them off, but an east-west road leads straight into my position, and sometimes two, three or even four tanks or stacks of infantry/cavalry pile up against a single German rifle squad. In certain hexes, Polish tanks drive straight into my entrenchments, forcing my infantry to cut & run.

I placed my tank sections/platoons as mobile reserves, and they have been vital in preventing the line from being torn asunder. With no visibility, this is up-close & personal , with Polish tanks being destroyed by infantry close assault. I've never played a European battle quite like this one. My Panzerbuechse units are also invaluable, but extremely brittle. One heroic section, commanded by Sgt. Hauschild, destroyed four tanks in successive turns before being wiped out by the fifth to attack the infantry stack it was in.

The whole battle experience is more reminiscent of a scene from Russia in 1944, not Poland in 1939. I quickly learned why German rifle units are not predisposed to close-in fighting. They are average troops, and tend to retreat under pressure. When they are prevented from using the MG34 as a stand-off weapon, it is a distinct disadvantage to them.

As for the Poles, under conditions like this they are quite good. Their rifle squads are large, and their tanks, while easy prey for the heavier Pz IIIs and IVs, can acquit themselves well against the Pz Is and IIs.

This first campaign battle is a test of my custom German OOB, and I'll probably restart it. Nevertheless, it's definitely proved to me that not every battle against the lowly AI has to be a dull target practice. There can be many "Ach, sch****e!" moments to frustrate even the most cocky Kommandeur.

< Message edited by KG Erwin -- 10/28/2004 5:51:43 PM >

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RE: A German Long Campaign--Tentative Start - 10/29/2004 2:03:44 PM   
robot


Posts: 1438
Joined: 5/9/2000
From: Covington Ky USA
Status: offline 		Gunny i found the PZ IB is great against heavy infantry. Really cuts a swath thru them. I dont do custum oob just ad hoc what is available and upgrade. Have fun the poles are tenacious and fight to last man.

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RE: A German Long Campaign--Tentative Start - 10/29/2004 9:12:37 PM   
KG Erwin


Posts: 8981
Joined: 7/25/2000
From: Cross Lanes WV USA
Status: offline 		Well, I restarted the campaign with basically the same core force, and this time my first battle is a full-map advance in clear weather (visibility 25 hexes). I've tried German long campaigns in older game versions, but never went past mid-1941.

I'm pleased with the AI force selections the Poles now have-- at one time they bought way way too many ATRs. That has been fixed, but the cavalry is still there. I have yet to see the mythical cavalry charges against my Panzers--even the AI is not THAT dumb.

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RE: A German Long Campaign--Tentative Start - 10/29/2004 9:35:06 PM   
KG Erwin


Posts: 8981
Joined: 7/25/2000
From: Cross Lanes WV USA
Status: offline 		In this first battle, the Poles have one rear area VH group, with roads leading to it from the north & south. My Aufklarungs Abteilungen, reinforced by ATGs and SPW Flak 10/4s, are using those routes in an attempt to conduct a classic double envelopment. The southern AA has my motorized Pioneer Zug attached to it. The main body of my KG is split into three groups, each with two rifle platoons and a couple of tank platoons. So, I have five self-contained maneuver elements. The three mini-Kampfgruppen are poised within five or six hexes of the middle VH groups, and their objective is to draw in the Poles--every German commander's dream was to recreate a Cannae-style encirclement, and this is exactly what I'm attempting.

The temptation is strong to just rush in with guns blazing, but patience and timing is essential to pull off something like this. The last thing I want to do is encourage the Poles to retreat en masse to their rear VHs. I'm concentrating my fire on the Polish armor--once they are whittled down, I can turn my tanks against the enemy infantry & cavalry. My ultimate objective--complete annihilation of the enemy force, an idea that the Germans called "Vernichtungsgedanke". Oberst Erwin is ambitious--he has visions of earning a Ritterkreuz, and taking command of a KG in the SS Verfuegungs-Truppen. At present his force is strictly Heer formations. We'll see.

< Message edited by KG Erwin -- 10/29/2004 2:39:50 PM >

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RE: A German Long Campaign--Tentative Start - 11/28/2004 8:22:11 AM   
M4Jess


Posts: 5140
Joined: 1/17/2002
From: DC
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: robot

Gunny i found the PZ IB is great against heavy infantry. Really cuts a swath thru them. I dont do custum oob just ad hoc what is available and upgrade. Have fun the poles are tenacious and fight to last man.


A Robot Knows......

Jess

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RE: A German Long Campaign--Tentative Start - 11/28/2004 7:46:29 PM   
robot


Posts: 1438
Joined: 5/9/2000
From: Covington Ky USA
Status: offline 		Dern tootin gunny the Ib is awsome against the poles. Good soundin too. Cuts them down to eatijn size. But dont count even the one man squads out. They fight to the last man.

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RE: A German Long Campaign--Tentative Start - 12/4/2004 3:51:40 PM   
robot


Posts: 1438
Joined: 5/9/2000
From: Covington Ky USA
Status: offline 		Gunny how you doin as the Germans against the Poles. Have been waiting for news from the front. How do you like havin the best equipment to fight with. The creme de creme so to speak. Makes you dred to go back to the bug infested jumgles with 3 vis dont it.

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RE: A German Long Campaign--Tentative Start - 12/4/2004 4:24:37 PM   
KG Erwin


Posts: 8981
Joined: 7/25/2000
From: Cross Lanes WV USA
Status: offline 		Well, I DID decide to go back to the Pacific. If I can finish a campaign there, I'll finally "do" a German campaign.

Rather than try to write an ongoing narrative, what I'll do is keep a private "war diary", and then do a postwar "memoir". How long will this take? The war lasted six years, right?

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RE: A German Long Campaign--Tentative Start - 12/4/2004 8:38:12 PM   
KNomad


Posts: 339
Joined: 8/1/2004
From: Buffalo, NY USA
Status: offline 		Robot - Jess - Erwin - You guys are nuts

I wish I had the knowledge and breadth of experience you have with SPWAW.

I'm not worthy

Just kidding ... stay tuned!



< Message edited by KNomad -- 12/4/2004 1:54:31 PM >

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Don't get hurt! (XCOM: Apocolypse)
Incoming firepower has the Right of Way!
Fire at Will (or Wesley)!

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RE: A German Long Campaign--Tentative Start - 12/4/2004 8:42:19 PM   
KNomad


Posts: 339
Joined: 8/1/2004
From: Buffalo, NY USA
Status: offline 		Oh - and you too Goblin!

What's the running joke against cats anyway?!

REMEMBER: Big cats are dangerous ... but a little ***** never hurts!

Dang filters - at least substitute the correct number of astericks for God's sake!

<KNomad> wonders if ***** is in Fossolini's 1969 dictionary

< Message edited by KNomad -- 12/4/2004 1:54:04 PM >

_____________________________

The gnome zaps a wand of death. (Nethack)
Don't get hurt! (XCOM: Apocolypse)
Incoming firepower has the Right of Way!
Fire at Will (or Wesley)!

(in reply to KNomad)
Post #: 10
RE: A German Long Campaign--Tentative Start - 12/4/2004 11:55:30 PM   
KG Erwin


Posts: 8981
Joined: 7/25/2000
From: Cross Lanes WV USA
Status: offline 		Uh-oh, we have a drunken Panther lover alert. Jeez, the Germans were clever--even when you're drunk, you can say I love my Panthers. The slur was even built in.

I still love my Shermans. They have a drunk factor built in , too. Shure.

You armor nuts gotta remember who's the boss in SPWaW--the poor bloody infantry and the artillery. Armor is just icing on the cake.

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RE: A German Long Campaign--Tentative Start - 12/5/2004 6:57:06 AM   
Bladrian


Posts: 30
Joined: 2/28/2004
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: KG Erwin

Uh-oh, we have a drunken Panther lover alert. Jeez, the Germans were clever--even when you're drunk, you can say I love my Panthers. The slur was even built in.

I still love my Shermans. They have a drunk factor built in , too. Shure.

You armor nuts gotta remember who's the boss in SPWaW--the poor bloody infantry and the artillery. Armor is just icing on the cake.


Icing on the cake, eh Gunny?

Heh. My Kitties are icing with teeth. And claws. This particular cake ... bites back.

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RE: A German Long Campaign--Tentative Start - 12/21/2004 10:18:18 PM   
KG Erwin


Posts: 8981
Joined: 7/25/2000
From: Cross Lanes WV USA
Status: offline 		Ok, I just started a new German campaign, whith a few tweaks to my core force, but it is essentially as described in my first post on this thread.

This time, I started with a delay mission against the Poles on a full 4000-yard-wide map, facing east. It is raining, but visibility is 19 hexes, and I split my core into three mini-kampfgruppen.

The northern half of the map features two areas of high ground, with two VH groups between them. Two of my mini-KGs are stationed here, with cross-fire into the gap. There is a third ridge-line in the southern portion of the map, and this is where my third KG is positioned. My Pionier platoon and two Sdkfz 10/4s are in a tree-line some 10 hexes west of the VH gap, and also have this area covered. In other words, any Polish forces making a bee-line for these ten VHs can be fired on from three sides--north, south and west. The Aufklarungs Abteilungen are placed on the flanks. In most areas I have a gorgeous field of fire.

It's only turn 3, and the Poles are indeed massed in the northern section. I have yet to see any tanks, but maybe a dozen armored cars are in the forefront, and my PaKs, IGs and panzers have dispatched every one of them. (This core force has no PzB 39s, but does have six 75mm IGs and nine 37mm PaK. It is completely motorized, but short on infantry, as there are only two Rifle Companies--this could come back to haunt me later on.)

The Pz Ib's are doing murderous work on the cavalry and infantry. So far I've killed 20 units. This one is turning into a turkey shoot, and I'm loving it.

< Message edited by KG Erwin -- 12/21/2004 3:26:57 PM >

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RE: A German Long Campaign--Tentative Start - 12/22/2004 1:38:12 AM   
KG Erwin


Posts: 8981
Joined: 7/25/2000
From: Cross Lanes WV USA
Status: offline 		Battle report, turn 6, Sept 19, 1939: the Poles are still concentrated on the northern half of the map, and I've started shifting forces from the south. Rather than launch a counterattack, I'm just letting the enemy move forward into the killing field. I've racked up more than 60 unit kills so far. My losses are negligible, and these have been caused by Polish artillery and mortars. I have the full weight of the division's Artillerie Abteilung supporting me, with a full battalion of 150s and seven batteries of 105s. The rain kept the Luftwaffe grounded for this mission, but the Heer can do the job on its own. Goering's flyboys can sit on their cans and play cards while the Landsers do the fighting, ja?

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RE: A German Long Campaign--Tentative Start - 12/22/2004 2:58:31 AM   
KG Erwin


Posts: 8981
Joined: 7/25/2000
From: Cross Lanes WV USA
Status: offline 		Report to Regimentskommandeur from GefGrp Erwin, turn 7:" Change of plan. With no pressure in the south, I'm sending Hauptmann Muhlenkamp's Aufklarungsgruppe (five PSW, three Spaehtruppen mounted on Stoewers, and three MG Kradschuetzen) circling around the south flank to take out the Polish mortar positions. I'm also sending a Schuetzen Zug (mot) and a Pz II Zug from Gruppe Keppler with them in support.

In the north, a Pz Ib (Elfering's) was destroyed by one of those damned Polish ATRs. However, the northern sector, held by Gruppe Steiner, is keeping the enemy at bay. A few more enemy tanks/ACs have appeared, but these have been dealt with. The artillery will now focus on the attacking enemy infantry/cavalry.

Erwin"

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RE: A German Long Campaign--Tentative Start - 12/22/2004 5:04:07 AM   
KG Erwin


Posts: 8981
Joined: 7/25/2000
From: Cross Lanes WV USA
Status: offline 		The battle ended on turn 9, with a DV. The Poles lost 968 men, 2 arty and 34 AFV. My losses were 34 men and 2 AFV.

In recognition of this glorious victory, Oberst Erwin, Hauptmann Steiner and Hauptmann Keppler were given SS ranks, and each received factory-new SdKfz 251s as their command vehicles, replacing their Stoewers and Opel trucks.

Erwin is now a Standartenfuehrer, while Keppler & Steiner are Hauptsturmfuehrer. After a brief refitting, the KG is now tasked with an advance on Jaroslaw. It is Oct 15, 1939.

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RE: A German Long Campaign--Tentative Start - 12/22/2004 7:59:52 AM   
KG Erwin


Posts: 8981
Joined: 7/25/2000
From: Cross Lanes WV USA
Status: offline 		Turn 5, Oct. 15, 1939: This battlefield is one of the narrow ones, and is heavily wooded in spots. It is raining again, and visibility is only 250 yards. There is a east-west road bisecting the area, with three forward and one rear VH groups. The southernmost of the forward VHs was on my startline, and taken with ease. The center VH is on a hillock south of the road, and is wooded. I've taken it, but the Poles are engaging me in some fierce close-quarter combat. The northern VH, the farthest from my startline, is very heavily wooded. Gruppe Keppler is maneuvering around the Polish forces in this area, and hopes to surround them.

The rear VH is encircled by treelines, but there are ridges both north and south of it. The temptation was too strong, so I sent my recon elements as flying columns to take the heights and seize the VH. The southern group, accompanied by motorized Pioniere, are just 300 yards away from it. I've already destroyed a couple of enemy mortars in the process. The northern Recon Group encountered two tanks, and is making slow progress.

Losses are acceptable, with two Panzers and one PSW destroyed so far. In this battle, I'm determined to hunt down the Polish HQ and eliminate it even before I take the last VHs and start destroying the remaining enemy forces.

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RE: A German Long Campaign--Tentative Start - 12/23/2004 2:49:58 AM   
KG Erwin


Posts: 8981
Joined: 7/25/2000
From: Cross Lanes WV USA
Status: offline 		Well, Hauptmann Brandt tracked down and destroyed the Polish HQ on turn 10. By turn 11 the denouement was complete--another DV.

I doubt if I will continue with the Germans--I just can't "get into" them, despite the neat equipment and uniforms. There's too much baggage associated with them, especially as the SS. I'm having a hard time rooting for them, as I know how it will end. "Winning" as the Germans just isn't an option. My mindset has matured over the years (yeah, right, I'm still playing wargames as I approach 50), and I can't identify with "the bad guys".

My next mission would have been an assault in May 1940, against the Belgians (?!) outside Brussels.

I gotta go back to the islands and the jungles of the Pacific--I'm fighting an enemy I can develop a healthy hatred (if there is such a thing) against--there are many reasons for this, which I won't delve into here. The subject of hatred belongs, if at all, on another thread.

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