Yoozername
Posts: 1121
Joined: 3/4/2006
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I was looking for a 'armor-only' scenario to check out after getting the full game. The demo scenarios were not a good intro as far as I was concerned. The 'grey' tutorial was a bail and the other demo scenario just too 'show-casey'. It took awhile to finally win but it is just chaotic and 'too much'. I was expecting a SturmTiger to show up.
I just wanted to check out some tank action. Command some panzers. That's it.
So after looking through some offerings in the full game, I decided to play this scenario, 'Breakthrough', from the German side. On the first run-through, I made the mistake of 'forcing 60'. This is not the way to play in my opinion. After another try, the subtleties of the system are revealed and one starts to play much as a real commander would. Discretion being the better part of wargaming. One starts to think and play in platoon reviews. That is, I watch the movie with each platoon being the 'subject'. My actions, and re-actions, are platoon based and I start to 'look after' platoons in trouble. A good example is when one of the tanks in a platoon is being targetted by 3+ enemy. I withdrew the threatened panzer and had the other panzers, that could, fire 'CBE'. It was dicey but I was able to extract this tank and he survived the scenario.
One of the things that comes out when trading punches is that you don't want to be out-numbered as far as tank on tank. Its best to be the bully and have 2 of yours on one of thiers if possible or at least have a better tank taking on a lesser tank. Damage comes quickly to those that take hits. It can be frustrating as the ricochet model sluffs off many hits. The German is outnumbered and must make kills and get a good kill ratio. His hits must be decisive.
The scenario is really a meeting engagement and the German must decide what to hold initially and what to do with successive reinforcements. He basically has two Tigers and a bunch of PanzerIVs. The PanzerIVGs need special 'husbandry' and I used them as ambush type AFV. The Tigers were a problem in that I would have wanted them to be further back but they ended up getting in knife fights and doing OK. The game has 'cringe' moments when you order the Tigers forward and suddenly they are in the sights of mutiple soviets. The tigers do not have 'CBE' (smoke or Nb shells) and smoke dischargers are not modeled. It's best to keep some PanzerIV close to them for smoke cooperation.
Overall the game went as good as can be expected till I tried to counterattack across the mud field. I had decimated the Soviets up till this point and I wanted to wipe them out. Note that with relative spotting, it is very hard to know exactly what is out there. You get a true sense of doubt and I want to work on trying methods of battlefield recon. In any case, my PanzerIVH counterattack hardly traded afv and I couldn't coordinate the panzers coming over some rise. Reading the terrain is tricky and it's a game that requires much LOS and 'ground-work' views.
But I ended up with a 8+:1 kill ratio and split the flags. The scenario might be considered as a 'added-demo' scenario. I haven't played it from the soviet side yet but it will be interesting.
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'Breakthrough' scenario (spoiler) - 
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