#3774436 - 04/28/13 10:03 AM
Re: Combat Mission Normandy During-Action Report: The Mace
[Re: LukeFF]
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 11,234
LukeFF
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Redlands, California
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As the next turn unfolds, my men spot Rambler's ever-elusive scouts again. Shortly after this pic was taken they were fired upon and they vanished from sight, behind the cover of the hedge: Curiously, I can hear one of Rambler's mortars firing on this section of the map. This smoke shell was followed by another one at practically the same location as the turn ended. It looks like he's trying to put down a smokescreen, but for what? If he's trying to blind my scouts, it won't do much good, since my axis of attack on this side of the map will be farther to the left: The first of my 120mm mortar fire missions is now underway. Hopefully I can rustle out any scouts I think Rambler has in this area: On the right flank, two of my Panthers rumble forward to support the upcoming attack: My Hanomags on the right flank have gone as far as I want them to with troops aboard, so 1st Platoon and the company XO team will dismount here before moving forward. Only the company HQ will remain in its halftrack. Meanwhile, my scouts from 2nd Platoon will continue to move forward: My reinforcements are due to arrive soon, and then the real fireworks can start.
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#3775806 - 05/01/13 02:22 AM
Re: Combat Mission Normandy During-Action Report: The Mace
[Re: LukeFF]
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 11,234
LukeFF
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Redlands, California
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This next minute just turns out to be one of those unlucky ones. What I thought was a smoke barrage turned out to be a mortar strike aimed at the adjacent hedgerow. This round killed my platoon's commanding officer but somehow didn't kill the XO. I've cancelled the 120mm fire mission he was going to call in and instead am going to have one of my forward observer teams call it in (which I should have done all along, instead of risking my HQ section like that). Rambler's scouts pop their heads up again, including a couple who look like they're escaping the 120mm mortar strike behind them: All looks clear on the right flank, so I think it's high time to mount my attack on the Knoll objective. 1st Platoon, now dismounted, will take the left flank, while 2nd Platoon will advance on the right. Meanwhile, two Panthers will cover from the treeline on the left: Now, I can only wonder what sort of nasty surprises Rambler has in store for me...
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#3779120 - 05/08/13 10:43 AM
Re: Combat Mission Normandy During-Action Report: The Mace
[Re: LukeFF]
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 11,234
LukeFF
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Alright, we're back at it. As you recall, I lost one of my platoon leaders last turn to a mortar round. This turn, the platoon 2nd-in-command nearly shares the same fate when a round lands on the other side of the hedgerow: Rambler's scouts, ever aware they are the target of mortar fire, scamper away. Because of that, I'm calling off the mortar strike I had planned for them: Otherwise, not much to report this turn. My two platoons on the right flank are still getting themselves in position before they make the big push for the Knoll:
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#3780231 - 05/10/13 10:31 AM
Re: Combat Mission Normandy During-Action Report: The Mace
[Re: LukeFF]
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 11,234
LukeFF
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Finally, on the right flank my troops have sighted Rambler's scouts in this sector. They look to be behind a hedgerow just beyond a cluster of buildings. I'm not too worried about them right now, but I'm going to move up a pair of half tracks in case they become a nuisance or prove to be more than just scouts. Otherwise, my troops will continue to move in the direction of the Knoll, being careful to stay on the far side of the hedgerows and thus hopefully out of sight of Rambler's scouts: In the middle, while that one group of scouts scampers away, another group of scouts pops up to take their place. It's a shame I called off the mortar barrage in this area, but his scouts aren't going to see much here, anyways. Over on the left flank, two mortar rounds come dangerously close to my platoon leader. I really need to get this guy out here before he bites the dust. He'll be pulling back into the woods next turn, along with a few other troops who are too far forward.
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#3802258 - 06/27/13 07:15 PM
Re: Combat Mission Normandy During-Action Report: The Mace
[Re: LukeFF]
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 11,234
LukeFF
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Alright, leave is over! Back to the front, men! There wasn't a whole lot of action this turn. About the only thing of note occurred on the left flank of Der Führer, when my leftmost scouts encountered a British patrol. They opened fire on them, and a short time later the patrol disappeared from sight: On the right flank, my two platoons from Deutschland continue to move forward towards the Knoll objective: Finally, towards the end of the turn, my 120mm bombardment request for the Northeast Slope was acknowledged by the firing team. For this next turn, I've decided that my heavy machine gun section on the left flank would be better served with the units to their right, as I plan to attack towards the Northeast slope through the dead ground there. My rifle platoon on the left flank I intend to use as a diversionary force once my main attack is underway. In the best case they'll hook around on the left flank and will outflank Rambler's defenders in this area: Over on the right flank, my XO team from 5th Company will scout around to the left, while my two rifle platoons will continue to move up the hill towards the Knoll:
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#3809201 - 07/14/13 04:09 AM
Re: Combat Mission Normandy During-Action Report: The Mace
[Re: LukeFF]
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Joined: Jun 2001
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LukeFF
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As the next turn unfolds, my XO team from 5th Company Deutschland spots some more of Rambler's scouts moving forward. By turn's end they were on the left flank of my Deutschland troops. I'm going to keep an eye on them, but since my 81mm mortars are tied up with another mission right now I'm not going to worry about sending any ordnance their way: Meanwhile, in Der Führer's sector, the 120mm mortar strike finishes its bombardment. In hindsight, I should have coincided this bombardment with an attack order. Still, I can hope that I degraded Rambler's defenses somewhat in this sector: On the right flank, my scouts have just about made to the next hedge without any issues. I'm going to have them wait here for a turn to see if they can spot anything that might be trouble, and then after that I'll move up the rest of the company, along with the halftracks and Panthers. I'm still keeping two Panthers in reserve, in order to keep a long-range counter to any armor that may cause trouble on the left flank.
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#3809622 - 07/15/13 04:30 AM
Re: Combat Mission Normandy During-Action Report: The Mace
[Re: LukeFF]
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 11,234
LukeFF
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About 12 seconds into the next turn, a mortar round landed disturbingly close to my troops positioned along the hedgerow. Unless by some coincidence this was a spotting round from my 81mm tubes that was way off target, I have to conclude that Rambler has this area under observation. No troops were hit by this strike, thankfully. Because of that mortar round, I'm adjusting my plan a bit. 1st platoon will reposition to the right in the dead ground, which should keep them out of the sight of the enemy. Until I make my big push towards the North Slope, I don't need to have them exposed, anyways. 2nd platoon will spread out and push forward into the copse of trees just ahead. That will give them some cover from any enemy fire Rambler has planned for this area.
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#3810138 - 07/16/13 08:18 AM
Re: Combat Mission Normandy During-Action Report: The Mace
[Re: LukeFF]
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 11,234
LukeFF
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This was not a good turn for me. Shortly after the turn began, a mortar round takes out one of my squad leaders and lightly injures one of my MG42 gunners: And then, towards the end of the turn, another round takes out one of my assistant squad leaders and another machine gunner. I really should have held these guys in place instead of running them across the field with mortar fire around: The orders for the next turn are focused on getting my men spread out as much as possible. Rambler obviously has this area targeted for mortar fire, so I can't have my men just milling about, making themselves easy targets. The lead platoon will continue to push into the trees ahead, while the trailing platoon will spread out as much as they can and hit the dirt. Thankfully, this latter platoon HQ unit has a nice big shell hole in which to hide.
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