cw58
Posts: 277
Joined: 8/4/2007 From: Hanford, CA, US Status: offline
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A few thoughts about some of my mistakes during the battle. The armored foray off to the north was a tactical blunder. The 2 engineer platoons I sent with the tanks, I could've really used for assaults. And that's not counting the tanks that were out for a Sunday drive. From what I could tell, the British had good numerical superiority but I was unable to use it to full advantage due to the fact that I tried to mass too much firepower, especially near the end. I had infantry tripping over each other, trying to get to the Germans and all the while tanks were running over them. It was more like Russian human wave tactics rather than something the British might do. Also, with that many units together near the end, I suffered quite a few overstacking penalties. But by then, I was getting desperate. Throughout the scenario, I found myself unwilling to sacrifice APs for assaults that I thought were doubtful. In the few assaults I tried, I found them unpredictable. At times, when I thought the odds were good, the assault failed. Near the end of the battle, when the assault seemed doomed to fail, it succeeded. If not for the lucky assault on the bunker, I would have suffered a major defeat. Go figure. As for indirect fire, in this scenario, I found it fairly equal. By that, I mean the casualties were about what I would expect, with no advantage for me or the AI. I had about 6 tanks disabled by IF, but there were numerous hits on tank-filled hexes. Some losses were due to mortar fire, but the Germans had both 81mm & 120mm units. Most of those losses occurred in the last few turns, when I was surely receiving over-stacking penalties. I did not destroy any German tanks with IF, but they only had 2 StuG IIIGs which I hit maybe 4 times. That still leaves unexplained the problems people are having in DCGs. I wish I had an answer. As for the scenario, obviously I found it tough. The Germans had good defensive positions and enough mines to force their opponent right onto those defenses. As Huib promised, the AI did fight a very aggressive defense without being fixed in place. Neat trick, that. The one thing I would question is the supply. I didn't check beforehand to see what the supply level was, but to have almost 40 units out of supply when my HQs were relatively static and in range, seems extreme. But that may have been what the designer intended. Of course, that made the firefights that much harder because most of the time, my troops were firing at half-strength. Overall though, an excellent design. Nice work, Huib. Thanks!
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