I decided to have another shot at writing an AAR. This time, it's from a CMAK battle I recently played. I hope you enjoy it. Any comments are welcome.
Near Medjez el Bab, North Africa, December 1942Situation:
The allied forces are trying to break through this sector. A column of armored vehicles had been
spotted near Medjez and I have been tasked to intercept them. I have under my command 3 tank platoons.
The first platoon consists of 4 Panzer IIIs. They are inferior to the enemy tanks and any head-on
confrontation will definitely result in their demise. The second platoon consists of 3 Panzer IVs,
which are quite a match to the enemy tanks. Their 75mm guns can knock out the enemy from a reasonable
distance. Still, I have to maneuver them carefully if I don't want to lose any of these tanks. The
third platoon consists of 2 Panzer VI (Tiger) tanks. These behemoth, with their 88mm guns and thick
armor, are more than a match to the enemy. The problem is that they have bogged down somewhere, and
will arrive a couple of minutes behind the first 2 platoons. So, in the beginning of the engagement
the enemy will have armor superiority.
The plan:
First we observe that the middle part of the map is of a slightly higher elevation than the rest of the area. Furthermore, I know from intelligence that the enemy is approaching from the north-east (blue arrow). My units will be arriving from Medjez along the center road. Thus, initially, the two forces will be unable to sight each other.
I decided to make an area just east of the center of the map to be my engagement area (red box). So I order my Panzer IVs to move north-east and stop just short of the central hill (green arrow). Hopefully, they would not be visible to the enemy. The problem is, of course, that they won't be able to see the enemy either. After the Tigers arrive, they are to move towards the EA while protecting the Tigers' left flank. I decide to move the Panzer IIIs to the south-east (yellow arrow). Then I order 2 of the tanks to move further forward, just enough to be able to observe the enemy's avenue of approach. They will become my early-warning units. I hope that even if they are spotted --- and fired at --- by the enemy, they will still survive due to the long range involved. If things look OK, they will advance further to protect the Tigers' right flank and help spot any enemy trying to escape to the south. The Tigers, when they arrive, are to race along the central road to a spot where they can pour fire into the EA (red arrow).
The execution:
Everything goes according to plan in the first few minutes and everybody gets into position. We observe dust cloud rising from the north east --- the first signs of the enemy. Suddenly, one of my Panzer IIIs reported that he has sighted an enemy Sherman tank. He immediately pops smoke and reverses. Apparently, he realizes that his tank is no match to the Sherman. Smart move, I say.
However, a few minutes later the front Panzer IIIs see what they think is a Stuart light tank, and decided to engage. (
Note: The game will display anything your units think they are seeing. So even though the screenshot below shows a Stuart tank, the real tank could have been a Sherman --- or perhaps it's not a tank in the first place!).
Meanwhile, the long awaited Tigers arrive. I immediately order them to race to the front and engage the enemy units.
The Tigers arrived too late to prevent two of my Panzer IIIs from being destroyed by the "light tank" they are engaging, however. I immediately order the 2 surviving Panzer IIIs to stay put.
Soon the Tigers reached the EA and start killing enemy units. Within a few minutes, a couple of enemy tanks and armored vehicles are reduced to smoking wrecks. The Tigers simply shrug off any shot fired at them.
With the enemy in disarray, I order my 3 Panzer IVs to move forward in line abreast formation to cover the Tigers. They manage to destroy a few Shermans with a couple of flank shots. The enemy, badly demoralized by the appearance of the Tigers, cannot do much against them.
The Tigers continue to move forward, flanked by the three Panzer IVs.
Then I order the 2 surviving Panzer IIIs to move forward. They will have to cover the right flank and spot any enemy trying to sneak past.
Within a few minutes, they spot dust clouds rising from the ground due south to the EA. More enemies!
Upon receiving the report from the Panzer III section, I order the 2 Tigers to turn right and engage the enemy.
Meanwhile, the 3 Panzer IV keep guarding the Tigers' left flank from possible attack from any enemy surviving the massacre.
The enemies south of the EA are a couple of M10 Wolverine tank destroyers. These pack quite a potent punch and may kill a Tiger if they can get a flank shot. However, the timely right turn of the Tigers put them head-on and soon they too fall victim to the amazing 88mm guns.
I decide that there are no surviving enemies at the EA and order the Panzer IVs to wheel south and support the Tigers.
They are not needed. The remaining 4 Wolverines are killed by the Tigers within a minute. With all of their vehicles destroyed, the Allied forces have no choice but to surrender to my victorious forces and I win a total victory!
Evaluation:
While I ultimately win this engagement, I could not help --- with the benefit of hindsight --- to think that my sacrificing the 2 Panzer IIIs is useless. I should have told them to stay out of sight and wait for the Tigers to arrive. I have made a mistake, and 2 crew members paid for it dearly.
I'm currently engaged in two PBEM engagements with some opponants. Perhaps I'll make an AAR of them when I get done. I wish we'd see more of these AAR like yours from the combat mission series. The series is such a fantastic tactical sim.
