IBTyrone
Posts: 432
Joined: 7/29/2003
From: Kentucky, USA
Status: offline
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: Puukkoo
Okay guys, I sent you both a package. Let's hope it works. Report here if you don't have it yet.
Hey Puukkoo.
Finished the first scenario last night and managed a DV.
Core comments:
I went pretty much with your suggested core:
1 HQ
1 FO
1 Coastal Co. - HMGs
1 Ski Co. - HMGs
1 Engineer section
1 ErP section
2 81mm mortar sections
2 75mm Inf Guns
2 Komsomolets (to transport the Inf guns)
I enjoyed playing Finnish troops for the first time. I spent a lot of time wandering through the OOB checking out the different options. I still don't know what sissi-squads are, but in the States, the term sissy carries different connotations. 
Regarding the Finnish OOB and it's relation to this campaign--the Komsomolets are mis-priced. 6 points is ridiculously cheap for an armored carrier with an MG. A pack mule costs 15. I assume you guys have addressed that issue in the Finnish OOB discussions over at the SPWAW Depot? Also, the 76 RK 27 InfGun is also ridiculously cheap for what you get. For only 20 points you get a gun that has a penetration value of 94? That almost has to be a misprint, because that is better than most ATGs, especially for that period of the war.
Battle AAR:
I dropped a bunch of smoke in front of the first row of victory hexes and sent the Coastal Co. in on a frontal assault. I positioned the Ski troops below and sent them in a flanking movement up the hill. I sent the engineer section in with the coastal company and the ErP and Komsomolets (w/loaded infantry guns) with the ski company.
After the initial smoke barrage, I began to use the mortars in a creeping barrage directly in front of the coastal company working my way up the hill. Even still, when a coastal squad met up against a Soviet Ski squad, the coastal squad got the worst of it. The mortars did not do that good of a job surpressing the Soviets. It was only through concentrated numbers of coastal squads that I was able to push the Soviet Ski squads back. I started running out of ammo on the mortars around turn five but by that time, I had taken the front row of victory hexes and was making my way toward the second row, so I started using my mortar ammo more conservatively from that point on. I still used the 75mm OB Howitzer batteries whenever they were available. With the plentiful target hexes, I was always able to get response times around .3 from the OB artillery.
My ski troops encountered little resistance on the flank until reaching the top of the hill around turn six. One of the squads stumbled on a MG bunker and was shot up pretty good, but was able to retreat in good order. I immediately followed up with lots of smoke from my mortars which limited the effectiveness of the pillbox and allowed my komsomolet to get behind it with the infantry gun. However, the bunker started calling artillery down on itself and ended up destroying my komsomolet and forcing the crew of my inf gun to retreat. Around turn 12 my ErP squads finally reached the top of the hill, were able to get behind the bunker and destroy it.
After the ski troops topped the hill around turn seven, they spread out and found another MG bunker on the back side of the hill. I moved my other Komsomolet/Inf gun behind it and the same thing happened as with the other bunker--mortar fire was dropped on our head once again forcing the crew to abandon the gun, but this time I moved my Komsomolet away to keep it from getting destroyed. I moved my ski troops close to the victory hexes around the top of the hill (but not taking them all) and waited for the Coastal squads to finish their work on the frontal assault.
By turn 8 or so, most of the lower victory hexes had been taken by my coastal squads. Just prior to this (around turn 6) I remembered that I had sledges behind my mortar park and began to move them into action. I moved four to support the coastal troops and 4 toward the top of the hill. The sledges showed up in support of coastal troops just in time to help mop up the remaining Soviet ski troop defenders.
So, at turn 10, I moved my ski troops onto the victory hexes on top of the hill and then moved them to defensive positions for the inevitable counterattacks. By this time I had also taken all the lower victory hexes and moved the coastal squads into defensive positions as well.
Over the course of the next four turns the Soviets counterattacked furiously and continued to lay down lots of mortar fire, particularly on my defenders at the back of the hill, but I was able to shift around ski troops in support of one another to deal with hotspots so usually my guys were defending from better terrain and outnumbered the enemy 2 or 3:1. On the flanks on the lower victory hexes, the top section got hammered by counterattacks and because the coastal squads don't move as well as the ski troops so reinforcements were harder to bring into play--but they held.
Battle comments:
I enjoyed this scenario and found it very challenging. Most challenging was the lack of movement out of any of my troops except the ski troops. Their mobility definitely makes them the MVPs of this scenario. Most of my coastal squads only could move one hex at a time when slogging up the hill. The Soviet Ski squads were also tough nuts to crack. I lost three squads total to Soviet ski troops and a Komsomolet to a Soviet artillery barrage. I couldn't rebuild all my losses due to only 25 points available to rebuild. I only rebuilt two ski squads and did not rebuild the Coastal squad or the Komsomolet I lost. We'll see how that affects my forces in the second battle.
Although I tweaked the recommended core slightly (with the addition of the Kosmolets and Inf guns) they didn't have any impact in the final outcome. I wasn't sure what kind of armor to expect and didn't want to rely solely on infantry to stop any armor I might run up against. I think in the second scenario (a defense) my 76mm guns will see much more action.
Scenario comments and suggestions:
Wow! What a huge map! I was wondering why I didn't break their morale and after looking at the enemy map after the first battle I can see why I didn't. If some of those other troops would have made it to the battlefront, I would have done much worse.
Have you considered adding mines? It definitely would help slow down the advance and add that "gotcha" factor that you face when mines are in play.
Probably the biggest issue for me was that there were too many pre-plotted artillery targets available. With 10 the 75mm off-board batteries were probably more effective than they should have been (when they were available). I think the number of targets available is a function of map size (and mission) so I'm not sure you can reduce them. Given the relatively small battlefront respective to the map size, four pretargets would have been sufficient, I think, since most of my artillery was of the fast-response on-board variation anyways.
What is the point of the sledges? I can't believe I forgot they were part of the scenario. They only carry eight (most of my squads were 10), they don't have any armor and are relatively easy to destroy. A rifle shot from a Soviet ski squad destroyed the one I lost. The description says they have a flamethrower but it was never used when I attacked the Soviets ski squads in mop up duty. I never tried a sledge on a MG pillbox, so maybe the flamethrower is reserved only for armored vehicles.
I also never used the 20mm AA guns. I'm not sure what they are on the map for either. Does one of the future battles have planes? They are too heavy for the sledges (although my Komsomolets could carry them) but I would rather carry my Inf guns than the AA guns. If I wouldn't have had the Komsomolets I wouldn't have had the option to move them at all?
Overall I really enjoyed the battle. Everything functioned well with no major problems that I could see. I will start on the second battle tonight (while still getting a turn or two in on Das Reich).
< Message edited by IBTyrone -- 9/29/2005 6:25:02 PM >
|
Printable Version
RE: Work completed! - 
. I have now changed them to 251/2s (halftracks with mortars). With experience they've got their delaying time is now 0.2. And FO can be carried by Ammo carrier --> fast artillery force 
and own casualties must be kept as low as possible. Those 25 points reflect that very nicely. Good work Puukkoo! 
- I chose the other way to do it and it worked also well. This is going to be very good campaign afted being edited just a little. 
Shoot. If I get to Finland, beer is on me! 
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread