Hi Listers, My weekly opponent Tom "I can't roll less than 10" Mueller and I wrapped up the first CG scenario of ABTF CGIII last night. Let me just say that VASL with Netmeeting is fantastic. Here's a little AAR and some thoughts about British and German strategy. First impressions: in the first scenario (17 Night), the German player really needs to make sure he passes his personal morale check. To put it bluntly, his forces will be stomped. Piles of British squads will outnumber the Germans, and the Brits are stealthy while the Germans are Lax at night. Makes for relatively easy progress for the Brits. That said, the Brits probably should go for the kill; one goal for the first scenario I think has to be the elimination of as many German units as possible...ignore capturing lots of blocks since you'll have problems later defending them. As long as you control one or two (preferably one will be Block H; it has to be at least uncontrolled territory anyway to avoid the German instant victory) at the end that's more than enough setup area for the next scenario. But if you leave too many Germans alive, that more than anything probably will hurt you down the stretch. We'll see how my plan works out as we play on. :-) My goals for 17N were twofold: 1. Kill as many Germans as possible while sustaining as few casualties 2. Capture Block H (the biggie), I (hold the south flank), and J (get right up next to the bridge). Through tactical care and dice (hey, I'll admit it, Tom!) I accomplished goal 1. I inflicted 58CVP on the Germans, including 20 out of 24 squads and 6 out of 8 leaders, and only suffered 2CVP (one 338 HS and one 248 HS). I nearly accomplished goal 2. As of the end of 17N, I control Blocks H and I. I nearly got Block J (it's Uncontrolled for the next scenario, which at least keeps the Germans from setting up there). I also managed to get Block K (with the schoolhouse) to be Unconrolled. This was key, since Tom had to then abandon his 50L which was set up in that block. So, I have a numerical advantage in squads that should last a while; at least a few CG dates until I run out of CPP and Tom is able to build up reserves. Tom set up a skirmish line in Block J from P16 (fortified both levels of that) down to P20 and also in Q22. This contained a mixture of squads (3 436s and a 658), dummies, and a wire in O21. He had another line of 658s, 237 HSs, and dummies from O13 up through the buildings to O3. Back in Block K he had his 50L in S5, and some 658s in/near the T8 building with a spotter on the roof for a 50mm MTR in S9. Tom bought one Volkssturm platoon (3 447s with a 6+1 leader and a LMG) and one SS engineer platoon (3 838s with a 9-1 and 2 DC and a FT). I bought 4 Para Platoons (16 648s), 1 Glider Platoon (4 458s), 1 Commando Platoon (3 648 commando/sappers), and 1 Engineer Platoon (3 648 engineer/sappers) for 26 squads. I came in in a broad line stretching nearly across the map. I advanced through the blocks as fast as I could to reach his skirmish lines. I didn't waste time running around blocks E, G, D, C, or F. To capture a block, you need to control all locations (hard when there's No Quarter eliminating Mopping Up) or have a non-crew MMC in the block with no enemy MMC in the block. I didn't want to waste time running through locations, or waste men by stationing them all over the map. Plus, a fast advance allowed me to have more time to kill Germans, *and* be able to ambush the convoy in the road from O9 to O6. I got some big concealed stacks next to the road and blasted away. The entire convoy was KIAd by the end of turn 4 or so. The goofiest thing there was the snake-eyes on a residual FP attack on a truck to b! urn it! Key too was the elimination of the German MMG. As I encountered the German skirmish lines, it became apparent to both of us that the Germans were severely outnumbered and outgunned. Most of the Germans in the forward lines went down to CC as they were swarmed; the rest just died from multiple 20+ FP attacks. Block H was captured pretty quickly. Block J was tougher since I had to cross the O16-O21 road. I parked my men across in Block I (N16-N20) and started shooting and trying to advance into the road. My first attack was beaten back as one squad pinned in the road, and the other squad with a 9-1 made it across only to casualty reduce in CC vs an ambushed 436! Tom had a HIP 9-1 and LMG/658 in O16 (good move...HIP in OG at night). But I found it by trying to move there. When I fired at the stack, the 9-1 went Berserk, taking the 658 with it. They were both killed in the ensuing MPh and CCPh. A few more turns of "softening up" and I was able to make a good foothold in block J, but only just as Tom's Volksturm 447s! arrived. The entire platoon and the leader died, but it kept me busy just long enough to allow a 436 in a cellar to stay alive and keep me from controlling the Block. I parked my ATG in F21 to cover the bridge. This way, I got a shot at the German Armored Car that enters on Turn 5 (?). With a 6 to hit, I figured it was worth a try. It worked, and the Gun destroyed the AC as soon as it entered the map. With the German unlikely to buy any AFV the first scenario, that's the best thing to do with that 57L I think. While the fight for Block J was going on, I was basically just taking potshots across the ramp from Block H to Tom's stuff in Block K. Through this I managed to finish off the remnants of the Convoy and to force back a few units. This allowed me later to sneak a 338 and a 458 into the Schoolhouse (in hexes S11 and T11). Tom rushed the position first with a 658. The 338 took a 3+0 shot and rolled a "3", breaking the 658. So, Tom figured (not unreasonably) that rushing it with an LMG/838 would do the trick to get me out of the School. He got into T10 and the 338 fired SFF adjacent for 3FP+2. I rolled snakes for a 1MC and Tom rolled boxcars for a CR! In the DFPh, my 458 fired at the remaining HS for 8+3 and rolled a 4 for a 1MC, which Tom failed, and that was the end of the 838. The 338 and 458 were later nominated for high battlefield honors and medals! So, for the start of the next scenario, the Germans have only 4 squads to set up on the map (2 838s and 2 658s) with a 228 crew, a 9-1, a 7-0, 2 DC and 1 FT. The 50L, 4 LMGs (one malfed), and a 50mm MTR are in uncontrolled territory. The Brits have 25 squads, the 57L gun, and the 76mm MTR, along with nearly all their SW (I lost a LMG, but managed to replace it with a captured German LMG). But, now comes the really nasty part of the CG for the Brits. The Germans can start entering practically anywhere they want too, north, south, east, or west. And I'll start to run out of CPP after the next couple of CG Scenarios as the Germans continually gain in CPP. This peculiar facet of the CG lead me to my Scenario-1 tactics. I figured if I can finish the first scenario with an overwhelming advantage in squads, it would take the Germans a lot longer to build up enough to make some effective attacks. This meant that I was perfectly willing to forgo capturing some of the easy blocks in order to keep more troops fighting. It also meant that although I didn't really have to worry about it, I was not going to make attacks just simply to gain territory, and was certainly loathe to trade squads. This is why I sat on the edge of Block H for several turns and took potshots at Tom's SS Engineers and 50L across the ramp in the northern part of Block K. No way was I going to frontally assault that even though I could have. What probably would have happened was that I would have lost a few squads in order to kill a few squads. This is not worth it, IMO, since the Brits will be so hard-pressed for every MMC later in the CG. Instead, I force! d the Germans out of Block K by making it Uncontrolled Territory. Fun so far! Mike Michael J. Licari Assistant Professor Dept. of Political Science Binghamton University (SUNY) http://bingweb.binghamton.edu/~mlicari/
This page last updated 2/20/00
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