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JNL -> (11/29/2000 5:12:00 PM)
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Sorry this is more AAR than progress report -I started typing and couldn't stop! So its longer than is should have been. Please note - Spoiler Alert on this one......
I've been away from the campaign for a little while - Hit Paris for the Thanksgiving Holiday. (Sounds exotic doesn't it? - Truth is I live in Europe right now so it was little more than a 5 hour car ride away.) I was at scen 4 or 5 when I sat back down to finish. Decided I didn't like my OOB - nuked my troopies and started over.
German troops at this stage of the war are starting to show the strain of 5 years of combat. Elite Heavy Panzer platoons (the core of my core) are mostly average with a sprinkling of vets. Out of 12 Tigers only 3 were veterans right from the start. Frustrating - but accurate. My AFVs are rounded out by a platoon of Stug 42s (105mm main gun). No vets there. My Inf all started as regular INF platoons. 2 of those and 2 Recon Teams with a section MG42s to round off the numbers - so in total 16 AFV and 16 (soon to be) Inf Squads. An FO and 4 platoons of Recon Teams (2 of the 4 man and 2 of the 2 man) round out my core. These last 4 Recon Teams will become my on board artillery with Ammo trucks. By Scen 4 my core should look like:
17 Tiger (My A0 will go Armour as well)
16 Inf (mix of FJ Paras, regular Inf, and Engineers)
1 FO
10 Wespe
2 Ammo Trucks
SPOILER ALERT.........
Scenario 1: Paras bought from support are key in this one for me. Actually I cheat a little and drop engineers just to left of the hill with 3 victory hexes on it. The engineers make their last stand in the trees just of the left of the hill. With luck they kill 4 to 5 Russian Tanks and pretty much pull most of the Russian troops toward them. My core is split up to 2 main groups. 2 Tiger Platoons drive right up the center - 1 Tiger Platoon and Stug 42s sweep in from the left. I buy 1 Wuffie Battery and 2 Ammo Dumps and an OBA 150mm Btn from support points and hammer the snot out of the hill and just to the left of it. My Para Engineers get whacked by the overs and unders from the Wuffies (which shortens their already brief yet active lives) however the Russians get the brunt of it as they gather on the victory objectives or close in on the engineers for the kill. My panzers struggle to rescue the engineers - suffering vehicle breakdowns and main gun malfunctions along the way. However - 12 Tigers are just too much for the T34s, KVs, and JSU 152s. They fall one by one as they nose through the trees or charge over the hills. Bunkers fall as well - my inf pay the price however. 1/2 of my INF, at this stage of the campaign, are recon units. While they do draw fire they are brittle and disappear like snow in spring. They suffer even more than the AFVs from lack of experience. Most will be upgraded to full squads or Arty - but at present they are cannon fodder. I seize the last few hexes.....The surviving Russian tanks beat feet to the map edge. Upgrade: 6 Recon are upgraded to 5 Wespe and 1 Ammo Truck. 1 Recon Platoon and Mg42 upgraded to FJ Paras – each Inf platoon gets an engineer.
Scenario 2: Objectives are spread across the map. 2 Stug Platoons and Mine Ram Sec. for support - 1 battery of 105mm OBA as well. Paras again. This time 2 platoons of my core INF will make the jump. A platoon of engineers to support the Stugs Platoon in the north, and 2 sections of AAA (1 20mm and 1 37mm) round out the support points. The plan is Student Body Right. Wide sweep to the right side of the map - take the center town from below. 1 Stug Platoon and 1 engineer platoon go right at the northern town. Most of the arty goes up here to support these guys - I'm only facing Russian INF up here - but Russian INF (in cover and hidden) are worse than Russian AFVs. The INF is para dropped at the farthest objective hex. These 8 squads will surround the single victory hex and wait to get dug in status - allow the attack on the center town to develop - then sneak out and capture the hex and wait for the flood of T34s. Dug in Inf should do well against the unsupported T34s - usually. All goes as planned - the northern group struggles the most. Losing 2 full squads - the Mine Ram and 2 Stugs. 2 full Inf squads of the 8 air dropped are lost as well - but the line holds - T34s lie in smoldering piles around the Victory Hex in the North East. The 2 Hexes in the Northern Town remain mine as well. The Shermans near the Center are taken on the fly – the remaining Russian Inf in the Center Town are pounded into submission by the combined weight of 12 Tigers and 4 Stug42s. The support Stug Platoon slaps a Su122 and holds off the Russian Inf counter attack near the crossroads. Most fortifications are bypassed. As in the first Scen – my INF has paid a heavy price – but the AFVs survive. Upgrade: 6 Recon become 5 Wespe and 1 Ammo Truck – One of Recon Inf become FJ Para – 1 Stug42 becomes Tiger.
Scenario 3: The Raid. Arty, Ammo Trucks, A0, and FO placed near map edge. 1 Platoon of core airdropped on far victory hex. Support points go to Junkers 52s for airlift and a battery of 75mm OBA. Nothing fancy here. Just drive up the middle shooting everything in sight. Smoke the far victory hex – drop the Inf as close to the hex as possible. Grab it and run. The first platoon of Tigers is empty – their primary job is to pick up the INF air dropped at the far end of the map. Grab a couple of objectives as well. I really like these raid type scenarios. I enjoyed the first one in “Heroes of the Motherland”. This one is just as fun. It becomes less fun when the T34/85s show up. Those Ruskies could shoot. Immobilized 3 of my Tigers before I made them leave their tanks or brewed them up. Russian Inf also a bunch of Davey Crockett’s. My Inf is once again hit hard. Their lack of experience (only 2 out of the 16 have vet status) makes them very vulnerable when the Russians close assault the tank they are riding on. They also usually come off worst in a straight up firefight. To be honest I use them very aggressively – loss rates are usually high in Inf when I play. Upgrade: 4 Stug 42s to Tiger – A0 to Tiger.
Scenario 4: Hill 239. Core is set – 17 Tigers, 16 Inf squads, and 10 Wespe. Sounds impressive. Well – the Tigers are. 70% are vets now. So I can count on at least 3 to 4 shots without movement. Inf is weak – mostly average. Upgrades and aggressive use have taken their toll. My Inf in “From Utah to the Rhine” was the backbone of my core – or at least as important as my AFV. Not so in this campaign. They are adequate at best. On board arty is also marginal. Converting recon units to Wespe has its downside. Arty ratings on the units are abysmal. 1 of them even has a 1.1 delay for firing. Can’t be helped now however. 9 of the 10 will shoot with a .4 delay of the fire request. Can’t be used for mobile targets but still useful. FO is still average. His arty rating is still 69. Bad luck when I bought him. This map looks dangerous. Objective hexes right up front - 2 further back – one all the way back. Cheater Engineer Paras again. I’ll drop 8 Engineers back on the tress to the left of the far objective hex. The trees over there look promising. Their job will be to take that single victory hex and hold off the Soviets for as long as they can. They should be able to deal with any mines or fortifications that they come across. AFVs will chew them up – but they should be able to hold on for a few turns. The Aux inf company will drive for the center town. At least one arty pre register hex will go there. Looks like prime territory for Soviet Inf. 1 platoon of Tiger/Inf will swing left of the center town. They will guard the left and help the Aux Inf if necessary. 1 platoon will swing right – flank security and the two victory hexes will be their objectives. Another arty pre register will go on the hills here.
The other 2 platoons will swing wide right and approach the center hill from the south. Rest of arty pre register arty will go on the center hill. Hopefully I will avoid any mines and fortifications with this route. Charging up the middle looks promising – but the thought of Russian AFVs on the hill shooting down on my tanks on the road leaves me cold. Aircraft will sweep the map from NE corner to SW corner. Hopefully I will get an idea on the Russian setup or 2nd turn moves. I got 25 turns on this one. I’m going to use them all.
Lock and load!
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