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The long, long road to victory - the long, long DAR thread - 2/4/2006 7:28:47 AM   
Einar Fridgeirs

 

Posts: 90
Joined: 1/21/2006
Status: offline 		From the journals of Col. Forrest Samson, US Army 2nd Armoured Division.

November 11th 1942.

"It is now three days since we landed in Morocco. All our vehicles have made it ashore in good order and the 7th armoured infantry company is now finally fit for action. The landings went very well. After a somewhat desultory exchange of fire with the shore batteries, the French forces on the beaches at Safi surrendered. It was obvious they did not want to fight us in the first place. My men did not take part in the landings, but me and Captain Owens, my second in command observed the action on the beaches as best we could in the early morning darkness.

The lack of action so far, after months and months of training has the men on edge. I canīt say I blame them. I feel much the same way. Somehow this feels like a pseudo war so far. You never know if the Vichy troops will shoot at you or run up to you and cover you in hugs and kisses.

But now we have finally been given a mission. One of the airfields assigned to be captured by paratroopers went distictly un-captured during the invasion. Some kind of navigational mistake. Now we have been ordered to drive out there and secure it. The regimental intelligence officer assures me that there are elements within the airfieldīs garrison that are secretly affiliated with the Free French and will do their best to convince the rest of the troops to surrended peacefully. The name of the contact is Dubois and he claims to have at least 90 men loyal to him. If he is truthful they will most certainly come in handy.

I have also secured from battalion headquarters a platoon of mechanized engineers, to deal with any fortification or minefields the French may have strewn around the airfield, and Lieutenant Franklin, my FO has somehow managed to get a ground attack air patrol, a duo of P-40Eīs earmarked for our use today(how he managed that I do not know, they turned me down flat!).
I also have the temporary use of a battery of 105mm howitzers, but I intend to use them as sparingly as possible. My mission is to capture the airfield, not reduce it to rubble. They may come in handy though if the need arises to cover our advance with smoke.

My own forces consist of my three core platoons of mechanized infantry, one platoon of M4 Shermans and one platoon of M3 Lees, along with recon elements and two light Stuart tanks I requisitioned to back up my recon forces. All in all I feel confident in the men at my disposal, They may not have seen combat yet, but they have lived and trained together for the last twelve months. I just hope that I can live up my duty as an officer and lead them well. This is also my first wartime operation, and I suspect the men are all too aware of that. It is important that this operation goes off without a hitch, otherwise the men might lose their confidence in me."

We depart at dawn tomorrow.







< Message edited by Einar Fridgeirs -- 2/6/2006 3:37:45 AM >
Post #: 1
RE: The long, long road to victory - the long, long DAR... - 2/5/2006 6:37:16 PM   
Einar Fridgeirs

 

Posts: 90
Joined: 1/21/2006
Status: offline 		November 12, 12:00
Location: Morocco
Weather: Hazy, visibility:900 yards

We reached the outskirts of the village just before noon. I can see the airfield from here through the haze, it is good clear tank country all the way to it should we choose to bypass the village, but I am not taking that chance. Any number of Vichy troops might be hiding there, and Iīm not leaving my left flank exposed. The axis of advance on the airfield will be directly south after we have pacified the town. The Air Force has dropped leaflets on both the town and the airfield urging the Vichy troops to lay down arms, and all my men have the stars and stripes prominently displayed on their right arm. Captain Owens has made sure all the infantrymen know they are not to open fire under any circumstances unless fired upon.

The advance is led by the scout teams mounted in jeeps, supported by the Stuarts w/additional scouts as tank riders. The jeeps are equipped with loudspeakers broadcasting a standard message in french, warning civilians to stay inside and calling for all military personell to lay down arms. As the recon screen enters the town it seems to be working. The few civies spotted hurry inside, and so far there is no resistance. Within minutes the reconaissance forces radio in - the main intersections are clear. Cpt. Owens leads two infantry platoon into the heart of the town, along with 2lt. Harperīs engineers. They are to establish a line on the south side of town and wait for the Shermans, who are moving behind them under flak cover from 2 M15īs - after all this is an airfield and the Frenchies may have scrambled whatever planes stationed here.

Meanwhile, scout sgt. Ellis has infiltrated silently through the woods south-west of town and reported no enemy presence. The roads leading into town are already becoming congested with vehicles, so I order 2lt. Evans infantry platoon to support lt. Monsons M3 Leeīs on a flanking move through the farmland - they will form the left flank on the southward push into the airfield. I have high hopes for the Lees, they are more versatile than the Shermans with their howitzers, and my infantry may need all the fire support they can get - thereīs no getting around the fact that I am short on infantry.

From my CP outside of town I can suddenly hear the rattle of small arms fire, and then the distinctive sound of a 37mm - most likely a Stuart. Word comes back from Owens - contact has been made. Numbers unknown, but they are holed up in a house on the southwest edge of town. Scouts have been hit, but Sgt Ross in his Stuart is responding. Owens is sending in the engineers to flush them out.

As I put the handset down, I feel a strange wave of emotions wash over me. Men, MY men, have been hit. Men I know, men I have trained, men who are my responsibility. For all I know they may be dead. And there will be more before the day is out.

Now, for me and every man in Co.7 the war has truly begun.

I know that strictly speaking I am disobeying an order, but to hell with diplomacy. If it saves one of my boys itīll be worth it. I pick up the handset again.

"This is Colonel Samson to all units. Weapons free, repeat, weapons free. If you see a Frenchie that isnīt singing the Mareseilles with a white flag sticking out of his ass, you pour it on īem!!"




< Message edited by Einar Fridgeirs -- 2/6/2006 3:39:46 AM >

(in reply to Einar Fridgeirs)
Post #: 2
RE: The long, long road to victory - the long, long DAR... - 2/5/2006 7:05:42 PM   
Einar Fridgeirs

 

Posts: 90
Joined: 1/21/2006
Status: offline 		Note: This is both my first attempt at a long campaign, and a DAR thread. Iīll post a complete force profile once I get Campaign Watcher. I decided to make my "alter-ego" a rookie colonel out on his first major wartime command to reflect my inexperience in playing SP:WaW. Hope somebody enjoys reading this, and I plan to make this more of a mini-novella than a straight-up DAR. Many of the unit leaderīs have distinct personlaities in my head, and Iīll try to make that shine through both in how I play the game and post the DAR. Think of this as fan-fiction influenced by events in the game. NOTE: I am not terribly familiar with US Army unit configurations, or what units served in Morocco, so this is not historically accurate. Any of you history experts that can tell me what a formation similar to my core force(three motorized infantry platoons w/3inch AT guns and mortars, 5 Shermans, 5 Lees and 2 Stuarts+ HQ would have been called, and what their operational role would have been, please tell me


(in reply to Einar Fridgeirs)
Post #: 3
RE: The long, long road to victory - the long, long DAR... - 2/5/2006 7:15:04 PM   
robot


Posts: 1438
Joined: 5/9/2000
From: Covington Ky USA
Status: offline 		As far as im concerned I liked reading your first posting tremendously. Keep them coming always enjoy another person having as much fun as I do with this game. My long campaign has not reached the time period where the US Army meets the french. But thanks to you I will have a hard time waiting for them to enter the war. Very well done to say the least.

_____________________________

Robots wear armor for skin.Grunts wear skin for armor.

(in reply to Einar Fridgeirs)
Post #: 4
RE: The long, long road to victory - the long, long DAR... - 2/5/2006 8:51:49 PM   
Einar Fridgeirs

 

Posts: 90
Joined: 1/21/2006
Status: offline 		1215 hours

About ten minutes later, Cpt Owens radioed back in with some quite incredible news. "Sir you mights want to take a look at this, seems we nailed their CP! The town is clear and we are moving into the woods, should be safe for you enter now".

I didnīt know what to think. Their headquarters? Unprotected? Were they really that unprepared? I looked over to lt Franklin, my artillery coordinator. He too had a look of increduality on his face. "Pack up you **** Richie, weīre moving!"

When we entered the town in our armoured cars, it was obvious that a hell of a firefight had taken place there. The house was riddled with bullet holes and the second storey completely gutted courtesy of Sgt. Rossīs 37mm. There was still smoke in the air and half a dozen bodies in French uniforms lying in the street. Around them Cpt Owens squad and the engineers had taken up defensive positions. Owens, all 6,1 and 220 lbs of him is one of the few men in the company who actually has combat experience. He was only 17 when he shipped off to France during WWI. In my opinion he is worth his not inconsiderable weight in gold.

"Sir, take a look at this" he said, flipping over one of the bodies. The insignia was unmistakeable. Colonel. Talk about a coup.

"There are some more down the road thataways, Owens drawled, pointing to the west. "They tried to pop smoke and make a run for it when Ross opened up and ran smack dab into Edwards jeep coming round from thīother side."

"Any prisoners?" Owens shook his head. "This part of town is clear sir, so if you donīt mind Iīd like to get back to my men. I have a feeling that this in not going to be all hugs and kisses."

I agreed. "Establish a line south of town and wait for the Shermans." As I spoke those words one those metal behemoths rumbled past us. Hold there until further orders. And take the engineers with you!" As Owens clambered clumsily onto his halftrack I couldnīt help myself. I know a colonel is supposed to act nonchalant and detached in the field, unconcerned about the average private, but I had to know. "How are the scouts? Are they going to make it?"

Owens grimaced. "My medic moved them inside. Itīs gonna be touch and go I think. They got hit pretty bad. Sir are you alright?" I really donīt know what he saw in my expression right then. Have to focus on the task at hand.

"Get going captain, let me know when you are ready to jump off. Coordinate with lt. Monson, he should be approaching his position any time now.

"Yes sir! LET'S GO, WEīRE MOVING OUT!!!

As the halftracks sped off down the street, I retreated inside and started setting up my CP. Hopefully the Frenchies would give up now, deprived of their leadership. But somehow I doubted it. Everything seemed to be going too well.



< Message edited by Einar Fridgeirs -- 2/6/2006 3:44:54 AM >

(in reply to robot)
Post #: 5
RE: The long, long road to victory - the long, long DAR... - 2/6/2006 3:32:32 AM   
Korpraali V


Posts: 659
Joined: 7/11/2005
From: Finland
Status: offline 		This looks very nice!

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(in reply to Einar Fridgeirs)
Post #: 6
RE: The long, long road to victory - the long, long DAR... - 2/7/2006 2:56:30 PM   
Einar Fridgeirs

 

Posts: 90
Joined: 1/21/2006
Status: offline 		Edging their way forward, the halftracks of 7th company burst through the backyards and gravel roads into the woodland. Beyond it, their objective. As they came on station the troops dismounted and took cover. Safeties clicked off, mortars set up and then the sound of shermans coming on station behind them. Kicking up dust, Cpt. Owens and the engineer platoon raced up towards the center of the line. to their right they could hear the Lees rumbling forward on the other side of the road connecting the town to the airfield. The tension in the air was palpable. On the road itself lt Ross, his sweep of the south side of the village complete, rumbled forward about 200 yards ahead of the main line.

"Any contact?" Owens took cover next to lt. Marks, leader of 1st platoon. Marks shook his head. "None so far, I sent the scouts forward on the west side of those woods over there, see if anything pops up. Say is it true we hit their CP? Goddam this is our lucky d..."

Before Marks could finish the sentance all hell broke loose. The thud-crack of some kind of antitank rifle, and the unmistakeable sound of steel richocheting off steel. Rossīs Stuart. Damn that kid was reckless. Then small arms fire began flying past their heads. Lots of it. MGīs, rifles, a real mixed bag. From where Owens was sitting it sounded like an entire goddamned company. Private Thacker dropped as if poleaxed, a red spot already blossoming on his chest. All along the line infantrymen hugged cover, and Owens squad was bracketed on both sides. The goddamn Vichy bastards had them zeroed. All around privates fired back, supported by BARīs and the 30 cals mounted on the halftracks. But the fire coming their way did not lessen in the slightest. If anything, it intensified. Whoever they were, these Frenchies knew their stuff.

Then the Sherman spoke up, and when Shermans speak up, people tend to stand up and take notice. Four high explosive shells erupted in and around the Vichy positions, and finally the onslaught receded.

"RETURN FIRE, RETURN FIRE! "HARPER, GET YOU MEN IN POSITION!" Even through the noise of battle, Owens could be clearly heard. Lt. Harper, leader of the engineers ran towards him. "TAKE YOUR MEN AND FLANK THEM ON THE RIGHT! THEN TURN LEFT AND SEE IF YOU CAN FLUSH THEM OUT IN THE OPEN! WE'LL COVER YOU".

Harper was a career soldier and didnīt need telling twice. As the engineers broke cover and embarked on their hundred-yard dash towards the enemy positions, 1st platoon saturated the woods with everything they had....but would it be enough?

More later today.....




< Message edited by Einar Fridgeirs -- 2/7/2006 3:08:55 PM >

(in reply to Korpraali V)
Post #: 7
RE: The long, long road to victory - the long, long DAR... - 2/7/2006 4:58:55 PM   
Goblin


Posts: 5547
Joined: 3/29/2002
From: Erie,Pa. USA
Status: offline 		Excellent DAR, Einar!! My favorite campaign! Will be following this one, keep it up!


Goblin

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(in reply to Einar Fridgeirs)
Post #: 8
RE: The long, long road to victory - the long, long DAR... - 2/7/2006 7:29:38 PM   
Einar Fridgeirs

 

Posts: 90
Joined: 1/21/2006
Status: offline 		Shielded by the massive volume of firepower being put out by their compatriots, Harper and his three squads of engineers sprinted across the open grassland. Once more and not for the last time, Harper cursed himself for having picked the MOS of engineer. It had looked so good on paper. Ooh, engineer, Iīll get hazard pay and some practical education as well, building bridges and s#!t". Instead he got to experience all the wonders of infantry life, with the added bonus of dozens of pounds of high explosives strapped to his body. Well, at least he wasnīt private Hesky. That dumbo had voulenteered for flamethrower duty and was immensely proud of it. Harper wasnīt sure if Hesky was all right in the head. Come to think of it, were any of them?

Firing his Thompson from the hip Harper and the engineers crashed into the shrubbery and took cover. Turning left they could see the french positions, logs hastily gathered together and foxholes barely deep enough to lie down in. At least they werenīt firmly entrenced. Well, time to get to it. Signalling to Hesky to light up his flamethrower, Harper took stock of the situation. It looked like every single man had gotten across safely, a testament to 1st platoonīs excellent job in supressing the enemy. Now it way payback time. ordering 2nd squad to move up front, the engineers swooped down on the Vichy troops already reeling after the shells of the Shermans. Not that they didnīt try. Several french troops had spotted the engineers and fired at them, and were now ready to defend their position. Moving from treetrunk to treetrunk, Harperīs men advanced into sporadic rifle fire and descended on the french. It was close quarters, almost hand to hand at times, but as soon as Hesky let loose the first volley from his flamethrower the frenchies had had enough. They began to withdraw, at first in an organized fashion that quickly turned into a headlong rout. The only real obstacle was about 50 yards down the line where a second squad of Vichy troops had repositioned a light 7.5mm machine gun to cover their retreat. Harperīs tossed a satchel charge into their foxhole and that was it. The french troops scattered, seeking safety on the other side of the woodland only to run into lt. Curleyīs Stuart who had circled around on his scouting mission for 3rd platoon on the left flank. Realizing the game was up, the few survivors surrendered.

As the smoke cleared, Harper waved the all clear to Cpt. Owen. soon the entire line was moving forward. Apart from private Nash, who had been pierced by wood splinters from a nearby tree during the exchange of fire, not a single one of Harperīs men had been hit. This truly was a lucky day.

Owen entered the copse, grinning ear to ear. "Good to see somebody in this outfit knows his ass from his elbow! Good work lieutenant, Take five and catch your breath, I have a feeling there will be plenty of work for you before the day is out."

"Yes sir!" Harper plopped down up, resting his back up against a treetrunk. Fishing a Lucky Strike out of his pocket, he lit up while Owens examined a nearby french trooperīs body, lying face down in the grass.

"Aw Jesus....Harper? Do you know who these men were?"

"No, what do you mean who were they? Not Free French!?"

"If only. Check this out..." Hanging from the dead soldiers breast pocket was a curious diamond-shaped insignia, a black bird on a white background. "These f@&kers are Legionaries. Elite. Damn Harper, you just went head to head the biggest hardasses in Europe and didnīt even know it!"

Harper dropped his cigarette stub and lit another. He hated chain-smoking, but somehow the situation seemed to warrant it.

"Legionaires. This is going to be a long day"


< Message edited by Einar Fridgeirs -- 2/7/2006 7:47:48 PM >

(in reply to Goblin)
Post #: 9
RE: The long, long road to victory - the long, long DAR... - 2/9/2006 4:11:17 PM   
Einar Fridgeirs

 

Posts: 90
Joined: 1/21/2006
Status: offline 		The main force of Co. 7 advanced once again, this time unopposed. Directing the advance from the scene of the previous scuffle with the legionaries, Owen quickly drew up a plan of attack. His forces were in place for a direct southwards attack on the main barracks and control facilities at the east end of the runway. Relaying his plan to the lieutenants, Owen set his plan in motion. Coming into open ground, the Shermans took the lead, no longer vulnerable to ambushing infantry. Still no sign of resistance from the airfield itself.

Advancing a hundred yards ahead of the infantry, the M3īs and Shermans were a sight to behold. But the french defenders were smart. Not a single bullet was fired until the infantry line broke cover. Now the fight was on in earnest. Advancing into raking machine gun fire, the infantry squads sensibly kept themselves behind the halftracks that immediately cut loose with their 30 cals while moving forward. Then the Shermans joined in, lobbin HE shells at the barracks where ever they saw muzzle flashes. Any hope of taking this airfield intact had just dissipated.

The resistance was fierce, and now and again some kind of small-calibre anti-tank round smashed into a Sherman or a halftrack. So far, nothing had done any damage. The French did not seem to have any answer to the awesome might of the american motor industryīs golden child, the M4 Sherman. On the right flank the M3īs were also taking the lead, along with the reckless sgt Ross, who seemed to think the advance was some kind of race. Remaining roughly 200 yards ahead of the tank line, Ross made a beeline down the road. Less than 50 yards from the main entrance to the airfield he started taking fire from the nearby buildings. Now given a target, he floored the Stuart and bore down on his attackers, lobbing a 37mm shell their way as an introduction. Then one of those french light AT-rounds buried itself in his left track assembly and the nimble Stuart ground to a halt. Rather than bailing from his vehicle, Ross popped the hatch and began raking the building with MG fire. Supressing whatever forces the enemy had there the foolhardy scout tanker had wedged open a door into the airfield.

Rushing to support him, Lt Monson and two of his M3īs took up position around him. But as the supporting infantry tried to follow suit, intense amound of MG fire opened up 300 yards west of their position. Returning fire but fearful of advancing over open ground against the emplacement, they signalled for the two remaining M3 tanks to take out the position. Firing both main guns, the Lees poured everything they had onto it, but it didnīt seem to matter. Fishing out his binoculars, lt. Evans took stock of the situation. It seemed that the french had dug out a gun pit covering the main road, and fortified it with an improvised encasement of logs and dirt. A tough nut to crack. This was a job for the engineers.

Meanwhile at the other end of the line the Shermans at the far edge of the line were beginning to execute a looping movement around the west side of the control tower and surrounding buildings. This area was thick with French troops that fired back at anything that moved. With only two squads of infantry readily available, it became obvious that reinforements were neccesary. The two calls came over the radio practically simultaneously. The engineers were moving out again.

To be continued......

< Message edited by Einar Fridgeirs -- 2/11/2006 5:44:04 PM >

(in reply to Einar Fridgeirs)
Post #: 10
RE: The long, long road to victory - the long, long DAR... - 2/11/2006 6:24:27 PM   
Einar Fridgeirs

 

Posts: 90
Joined: 1/21/2006
Status: offline 		As the calls came in, Owens was already in the process of moving his HQ squad forward. 1st platoon had already secured the area around the T-intersection, and reports were coming in of a possible penetration of armour into the runway area. Owens, a longtime grunt himself did not feel comfortable commanding his men from the rear. He wanted to eyeball the situation himself. These troops were green, and although well trained needed someone experienced at the buisness end of things. There was a graveyard at the intersection that promised to be a good spot to set up shop.

"Saddle up Harper, an MG nest needs clearing, and third platoon needs extra boots too!"

Harper nodded. "Iīll take the MG myself, and 2nd and 3rd squad can go support third platoon".

"Sounds like a plan to me! Make it happen Harper and Iīll have a bottle of Scotch waiting for you when this is over."

"Yes sir. PLATOON, SADDLE UP, WEīRE IN BUISNESS!"

They heard the whine as they were mounting the halftracks. It pierced the eardrums like nothing Owen had ever heard before. Transfixed, he looked up to the sky to see a sight that had terrorised millions of soldiers worldwide since they were first deployedi in Spain. Stukas.

Screaming their unique screech, like vultures descending on a dying buffalo, the Stukas were diving straight down to their positions. Some of the troops just stood there slack-jawed, hypnotized by their first sight of the Nazi warmachine.

"EVERYBODY DOWN!!! NOW GODDAMIT!!!!" Ownes hugged the dirt as the entire world seemed to disintegrate in a cloud of dirt and body parts. For awhile he didnīt know if he was alive or dead, the shockwave of the Stukaīs payload had knocked every last gulp of air out of him.

The he looked up, and saw that miraculously most of his men seemed OK. Demoralized and shell-shocked, but in one piece. Then he saw Harperīs 3rd squad halftrack. Sgt Vinchiīs men. It had taken a direct hit and was burning merrily. The stench of cooked flesh began to overwhelm the acrid smell of detonated explosives. They were gone. All of them, trapped inside the halftrack when it was hit.

20 yards away he could see Harper walking around aimlessly, his mind somewhere else. Cries of "Medic!" were being shouted out all along his positions. Now he had to take control.

"GET THE WOUNDED BACK TO THE CP! EVERYBODY ELSE SADDLE UP, WE HAVE TO KEEP GOING!!! HARPER!" The lieutenant looked at his CO with a look of almost comic surprise. "Yeah?"
"We need to take this airfield soldier" Owens could see in his face that the fight had just gone out of the engineer. "Look son, they have a bead on our position. If we stay put theyīll just keep on hammering us. When they see that the airfield is a lost cause, theyīll have to leave or else theyīll have no place to land, this is the only airfield the Axis have left in Morocco. You understand what Iīm saying" Harper nodded. "Iīll do what I can sir, itīs just that...theyīre gone sir. All of them".

"I know. Thereīs nothing you could have possibly done to save them. You get going, and Iīll see what I can do to get us some air cover. One way or another, we are going to complete our mission!"

Gathering up what remained of his men, Harper set out for the front.



(in reply to Einar Fridgeirs)
Post #: 11
RE: The long, long road to victory - the long, long DAR... - 2/15/2006 8:07:38 AM   
PimpYourAFV

 

Posts: 581
Joined: 9/30/2005
From: Japan
Status: offline 		Wow, that is long story for one battle. I skimmed through the non-battle parts to get to the meat. Its good to hear I'm not the only one who smelt cooked flesh after that punishing bombing surprise.

Your core force is fairly different from mine. I purchased 2 rifle platoons (no transportation), 1 mech engineer platoon, 2 M16's so I can upgrade to the cool quad 50's later, 2 90mm AA guns, 2 57mm AT guns, a pair of stuart tanks, 2 HQ squads and 1 sherman platoon with some arty. Almost the whole lot got messed up by the bombing in that Morrocco mission so I used my one remaining engineer squad and only surviving mech truck to go around and take out the fortifications. Two tanks survived the bombing to escort the engineer squad but one hit a mine and the other was blown up by a gun encasement while the mech also blew up from something violent. My battle made the Somme seem like a lovely sunday stroll. I like my troops to hump their own way to battle instead of riding cause it feels more like a classic battle that way plus its fun when they get shot up before getting anything done (I'm a fan of Haig).


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(in reply to Einar Fridgeirs)
Post #: 12
RE: The long, long road to victory - the long, long DAR... - 2/15/2006 8:29:59 AM   
Einar Fridgeirs

 

Posts: 90
Joined: 1/21/2006
Status: offline 		We must be of diffrent schools of thought in regards to our command style. I see it as my duty to make sure I lose as few men as possible while still getting the job done. As for transport, I LOVE halftracks. Itīs so easy to react in a fluid situation when you can move your infantry around quickly....and the halftracks function also for me as more mobile MG teams - I usually use my halftracks to supress and reduce the chances of the other guy picking off my infantrymen.

As for walking - infantry rarely marched thousands of yards once the battle was joined - keep in mind the scale of most SPWaW scenarios. one hex is 50 yards across.....so transporting them to a hot zone in trucks if APC are too expensive is actually more realistic.

And Iīm starting to realize how easy I got off re: the airplanes! All I lost was one halftrack, one squad of engineers and one 37mm AT gun. Cpt. Owens squad were bombed to hell and back, but not one of them died! Next round they were at 99 supression, and Owens rallied them back down to 1 and got down to buisness! That was really when his character started to take shape - an agressive, lead from the front type of guy....calm under fire and a hell of a leader.

Yeah I know itīs a long DAR, and itīs actually a AAR now(Iīve finished the scenario), but I wanted to write something diffrent, like a short story based on the game. So far, Iīm having a blast! Please read the non-battle parts too, Iīm actually quite proud of them, and the character development will grow as the scenarios progress. This thread is a long-term project for me.


(in reply to PimpYourAFV)
Post #: 13
RE: The long, long road to victory - the long, long DAR... - 2/15/2006 8:41:37 AM   
PimpYourAFV

 

Posts: 581
Joined: 9/30/2005
From: Japan
Status: offline
Einar, I can appreciate you wanting to keep casualties minimized cause that is human nature to protect your dudes. I just like to do things a little on the wacky side to keep things creative and fresh. As for the bombing, I got it really bad for several reasons like my 90mm AA's were not yet committed cause they were held in reserve against possible enemy tank counterattacks, I didn't expect planes thanks to the AI's seldom use of them, and I got the soft/hard bombard values set to 140 each. I enjoyed the bombing though cause it spiced things up real nice and made the battle much harder.

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(in reply to Einar Fridgeirs)
Post #: 14
RE: The long, long road to victory - the long, long DAR... - 2/15/2006 8:47:58 AM   
PimpYourAFV

 

Posts: 581
Joined: 9/30/2005
From: Japan
Status: offline
I forgot to add about halftracks... they are very high speed, convenient carriers and offer good protection against small arms which is why I only use them for my engineers and the AT gun pair. Making things too easy is not my style. Halftracks were a luxury during WW2 so I like to be realistic in my use of them. Like when I played Germany, I used horseteams and donkeys to haul my guns.

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Post #: 15
RE: The long, long road to victory - the long, long DAR... - 2/18/2006 10:33:05 PM   
Einar Fridgeirs

 

Posts: 90
Joined: 1/21/2006
Status: offline 		At this point, the battle had truly been joined, and all along the roughly 1000 yard frontage all units were firing at any and all available targets. It had become evident that the barracks and surrounding structures were the main bone of contention, Foreign Legion infantry dead set on denying them to the americans. Owens directed the offense from his vantage point in the graveyard, where his command squad was relatively safe under a protective shield of the M15, who also added their not inconsiderable weight to the volume of fire being hurled towards the barracks, now resembling swiss cheese more than buildings. Third platoon, holed up on the left flank waiting for the engineers to arrive spotted french troops moving in on their position from the south....but before they could open fire on them they saw them dive for cover, fire coming their way and dropping several of them from the barracks! For awhile confusion reigned....until Sgt Carter put two and two together. Those men must be the Free French sympathizers they had been briefed to look out for. Unable to see the Vichy troops pinning the Maquis down, Carter made a snap decision. These men could be useful, but not where they were now. They couldnīt link up with the americans without advancing over death ground in plain sight of the Vichy forces, and they seemed dead set on trying to do just that. Amateurs, but their hearts seemed to be in the right place. Time to bust out the big guns. After all, "weapons free", right?

Carter jumped up on the nearest Sherman supporting his position and advised the commander to head south to support the Maquis troops, and radio in a fire mission on the Vichy positions pinning them down. If the link-up could be made, and the engineers arrived soon, they had a shot at clearing the entire south end of the runway in one fell swoop. It was more than worth trying. As the first shells of the 105īs began crashing into the control tower and the surrounding structures, mixed in with the company mortars, the halftrack carrying the second squad engineers slewed around the corner of the line and joined second platoon.

Shielded by the artillery, and buoyed by the appearance of an Allied tank, the Maquis who had been pinned down regained their will to fight and also joined second platoon. They seemed to be a mixture of Air Force support personnell and security troops, Gendermaines and just plain old civilians. They were armed with an ecletic mix of small arms, and crudely improvised bombs, molotov coctails and dynamite sticks in lieu og grenades. One of the few men carrying an authentic military rifle, and with the obvious bearing of a military man ran up to Carterīs position, grinning from ear to ear. "Bonjour, Amis!Good to see you! Iīm Reynard, I used to be the security chief here before the Legionaires came. Me and my men are at your service!"

"How many you got? And where is this Dubois joker?"

"Dubois is in town with some some 20-odd men. I have around 40, give or take..."

"Good to have you aboard Reynard, you tell your men to follow the lead of the tanks, and back them up, Iīll coordinate with the tank drivers. Do not advance until you see them rolling and us too! Then you hit the southern buildings and weīll be all over these bastards!

"We will not let you down seargent! Viva de Gaulle!"


(in reply to PimpYourAFV)
Post #: 16
RE: The long, long road to victory - the long, long DAR... - 2/19/2006 4:43:36 PM   
Einar Fridgeirs

 

Posts: 90
Joined: 1/21/2006
Status: offline 		This was the decisive moment: Almost at the same time 3rd platoon, supported by the Maquis and engineers made their move on the left, and 1st platoon breached the defences in the center where Ross had bulldozed through. The Legionaries were now being ejected from the barracks, but not without inflicting casualties, and it seemed like more were rushing in from other parts of the airfield to reinforce them. Franklin, the artillery FO walked the barrage away from the conflict zones and onto the courtyard at the eastern end of the runway, catching Vichy troops in the open and stopping the reinforcement maneuver dead in itīs tracks. After twenty minutes of hard fighting the barracks were in Allied hands, but still some stubborn stragglers remained.

Harperīs squad of engineers however, were having a tougher time. They had been able to close on the MG pit, but despite repeated assaults it was still there. The prescence of mines surrounding the MG pit slowed them down, and Harper led his men into wooded country outside the MGīs range of fire. Even from there the assaults failed, they were running low on satchel charges and when Heskyīs flamethrower ran out of fuel, Harper took stock of the situation and admitted defeat. Grabbing the radio he contacted Cpt. Owens and gave him a quick sitrep.

The Captain decided to divert 2nd platoon to the center, away from the fire arch of the MGīs where more infantry were desperately needed to reinforce 1st platoon, battered from close quarters fighting with the legionaires. In the end, the MG was simply bypassed. Itīs crew would be convinced to surrender once the battlefield had been secured.

Enemy planes made another run at the AFVīs and APCīs now clustered around the graveyard, but were driven off by the M15īs without causing too much damage. Another plane singled out 2nd platoon 37mm AT gun that was guarding the western side of the line, and blew it to smithereens.

It was around that time that a convoy of trucks were spotted rushing towards the airport on the eastern road. Bad move. The 37mm AT gun of 3rd platoon, along with several Sherman tanks now idle after supporting the charge on the barracks were in an ideal, almost textbook position to take them out as they approached. The entire convoy was destroyed in under a minute, and the Vichy troops it was transporting were caught in open ground, sitting ducks for the 105īs, which diverted their fire from the airport to the east road. They never represented any danger to the operation, and were mercilessly destroyed.

In his command CP in town, Col. Samson recieved the report of the convoyīs destruction. "Good", he thought. "Maybe now the french will realize the game is up and stop this foolishness. Why wonīt they surrender?"



< Message edited by Einar Fridgeirs -- 2/19/2006 4:45:08 PM >

(in reply to Einar Fridgeirs)
Post #: 17
RE: The long, long road to victory - the long, long DAR... - 2/24/2006 10:35:48 PM   
JEB Davis


Posts: 443
Joined: 12/27/2005
From: Michigan, U.T.B.
Status: offline 		Anxiously waiting the next installment... what a storyteller you are, Einar.

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(in reply to Einar Fridgeirs)
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