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Trboule taking Messina

 
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Trboule taking Messina - 2/15/2015 12:25:41 AM   
runinmonkey

 

Posts: 8
Joined: 10/20/2012
Status: offline 		Having trouble taking messina. Battleground Italy 1943 to 1945. Bottle up the Axis nice and tidy inside of Messina. Then sit outside with an entire British Army group and take thousands of casualties having attacked for 4 weeks straight. Tried bombing even at very low levels (1000 ft) and despite losing hundreds of planes does not seem to have the desired affect.

I am clearly missing something, would love suggestions.

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RE: Trboule taking Messina - 2/15/2015 12:35:28 AM   
carlkay58

 

Posts: 8650
Joined: 7/25/2010
Status: offline 		Use your naval patrol to isolate the port. However Messina has the straits so they can grab supply from the Italian toe. You have to cut off the toe of Italy before you can realistically expect to do well vs Messina.

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Post #: 2
RE: Trboule taking Messina - 2/15/2015 12:42:59 AM   
Belphegor


Posts: 2209
Joined: 5/10/2004
Status: offline 		Lots of engineers attached to the combat units? Arty? 2nd line on reserve and in same corps?
If you've been hammering at it for a while you should check your fatigue. Especially if you're fighting in poor weather.

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Post #: 3
RE: Trboule taking Messina - 2/15/2015 3:49:41 PM   
Q-Ball


Posts: 7336
Joined: 6/25/2002
From: Chicago, Illinois
Status: offline 		When it comes to rough, urban, or mountain terrain that is heavily defended, the first answer is always to go around it, not through it.

In your case, it looks like you are close to isolating it. Close that off, THEN attack. They will surrender at that point.

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RE: Trboule taking Messina - 2/15/2015 5:45:50 PM   
LiquidSky


Posts: 2811
Joined: 6/24/2008
Status: offline

If you want to attack a fixed location with the maximum amount of oomph you need to do a bit of preparing.

First...make sure all the units belong to the same corp..or if that is more then one corp can handle, the same army. ANd that they are all 'rested' and supplied.

Make sure your attacking units all have full support units. Start with combat engineers (not construction engineers!). I find using the SP arty directly attached to my armour divs to be very useful.

Put as many units behind the attacking line on RESERVE.

Look at the commanders in your Corps and Army. Are they decent?

Even after all this, you will probably fail the first attack. But you probably destroyed a lot of his fortifications. Make sure you look at the combat report to get a feel for his defence. Attack again if your odds in the failed attack were better then 1-1. (say 1.5-1 ish)

Oh....and do make sure you have Ground Support for the attacking army. You can try and 'soften' the target with Ground strikes, but in the case of Messina, it is packed with a lot of FlaK. You can also try a triple whammy of Interdiction in the hex, Striking the unit directly and Ground support.



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“My logisticians are a humorless lot … they know if my campaign fails, they are the first ones I will slay.” – Alexander the Great

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Post #: 5
RE: Trboule taking Messina - 1/31/2016 11:58:02 PM   
mavraamides


Posts: 447
Joined: 4/1/2005
Status: offline 		Thanks for tips all!

I was able to finally do this by stacking all heavy Brit Inf from each corp in border hexes and putting the rest behind them in reserve.
Attached as much engineer and arty as I could and left the inf in refit mode for a turn.
Used US to sweep west side of island.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mpjkql0rrujv3p4/Untitled-1.png?dl=0

(in reply to LiquidSky)
Post #: 6
RE: Trboule taking Messina - 2/4/2016 9:44:29 AM   
CreamyGoodness

 

Posts: 3
Joined: 2/4/2016
Status: offline 		What worked for me was parking an amphibious HQ in a sea hex next to Messina (155,283). The enemy can't trace supply through a hex adjacent to an amphibious HQ so the HQ effectively blockaded the port and caused the port hex to become isolated. With the defenders out of supply the port falls relatively easily.

When I tried this I already controlled the toe of Italy. It would be interesting to know whether this strategy works on Messina when the east coast of the strait is still Axis controlled and in supply. Possibly it would take an amphibious HQ at each end of the strait to create a blockade.

(in reply to runinmonkey)
Post #: 7
RE: Trboule taking Messina - 2/5/2016 8:53:15 PM   
mavraamides


Posts: 447
Joined: 4/1/2005
Status: offline 		Interesting use of amphibious HQ! Kind of gamey but until they add naval proper to the game it's the best we can do.


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Post #: 8
RE: Trboule taking Messina - 2/6/2016 7:34:16 AM   
HMSWarspite

 

Posts: 1401
Joined: 4/13/2002
From: Bristol, UK
Status: offline 		Not gamey at all. They are not only amphib lift. They represent a collection of capabilities, ranging from lift, port repair and naval gunfire support. Coastal supply interdiction is entirely legitimate. Of course whilst they are doing that they aren't supplying or preparing for the next invasion... Pay you money and take your pick...

< Message edited by HMSWarspite -- 2/6/2016 8:36:51 AM >

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Post #: 9
RE: Trboule taking Messina - 2/8/2016 1:35:06 PM   
mavraamides


Posts: 447
Joined: 4/1/2005
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: HMSWarspite

Not gamey at all. They are not only amphib lift. They represent a collection of capabilities, ranging from lift, port repair and naval gunfire support. Coastal supply interdiction is entirely legitimate. Of course whilst they are doing that they aren't supplying or preparing for the next invasion... Pay you money and take your pick...


Well I used it in my last game to great effect. Using a combination of that and techniques described above I took Messina on turn 4 on first attack in the battle of Italy scenario. I'm also using it on every port city that I need. Great tip, thanks!

(in reply to HMSWarspite)
Post #: 10
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