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#4339855 - 02/23/17 10:58 PM Re: CM Normandy AAR: "Once and For All" [Re: Nixer]  
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Originally Posted by Nixer
Good show so far.

Enjoying your great AAR



+1

Inline advert (2nd and 3rd post)

#4341415 - 03/02/17 01:53 AM Re: CM Normandy AAR: "Once and For All" [Re: Rinaldi_AARs]  
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By the 60th turn the formations are assembled and ready to begin advancing. This leaves an hour and a half to secure Moncourt; and I suspect it will take between 10 and 15 minutes to advance to attack positions and fully establish a base of fire.

It took about an hour to secure Ley – albeit that was with some tactical mistakes. While I believe time is going to start being a factor I certainly don’t feel a crunch just yet. At any rate, hurrying will simply lead to excessive casualties and fail two objectives instead of just one. So, smooth is fast, and the attack will begin when all elements are in position.

It’s worth looking at the formations as they move across the valley floor; a Company team in close formation is a formidable sight. However, reasonable direction must be given to prevent it from becoming a total, vulnerable mess. Both Team Leach and Team Spencer are in narrow and deep formations. Team Leach is the larger of the two due to HQ/37th ‘tagging along’ and the graphic below shows how concentrated they are just prior to starting the attack.

You’ll notice that they no longer have a tank platoon in reserve: A sure sign of the mission and total losses suffered by the Battalion in the fighting for the high ground. This takes away greatly from the flexibility of the formation, but there’s little that can be done without diminishing its fire power.

[Linked Image]

The formation will naturally lengthen out as they begin moving: I have no idea what’s in front of me and there are a few potential ambush positions between Ley and the intended base of fire, so it would be prudent to have the carriers following at great interval. Below you see Team Leach moving out:

[Linked Image]

While the formation is still quite compact, the tanks are about 45 seconds travel time ahead of the halftracks, creating what I hope to be enough safety room in the unlikely event of strong and unexpected contact. In even more uncertain terrain and circumstances I would be moving the armor a full minute ahead of the main formation.

By the 65th turn all units are well and truly moving. They will begin a marching fire on Moncourt the moment they get close enough for it to be feasible.

Timed fires are organized by the two battalion level forward observers as the formations advance. The fire plan will be much the same as it was for Ley, with two batteries firing general, the third firing air burst. The barrage will be more intense and will only lift, however, when Team Spencer is in an assault position. The barrage is set to begin after ten minutes. Timing will be key here. The hope is to be lifting the barrage as my mounted infantry dismount close to town. The risk of fratricide is incredibly high.

More to follow - and sorry for the delay!

#4342171 - 03/05/17 03:13 PM Re: CM Normandy AAR: "Once and For All" [Re: Rinaldi_AARs]  
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Turns 65-67:

Team Leach advances without incident and is just about to enter its intended firing position by the end of these sets of turns.

Team Spencer comes under fire from a Panzer IV in ambush at another farm along the Ley-Moncourt road. A second Panzer IV, much further back from the first, soon reveals itself. The lead tanks react swiftly, while the infantry halt, safely out of range of effective fire.

[Linked Image]

Moving in wedge Team Spencer has its left most platoon (in reality a platoon reduced to a section and the CO himself) stop to engage; HE and area fire on the forest in front followed by a target arc to account for both Panzer IVs. The rest of the company, at platoon strength, will wheel around to prevent the escape of the close Panzer IV and – hopefully – take it in the rear before it can be a threat.

An exchange of fire with the distant Panzer IV soon develops, and in a tense exchange, the Americans find the mark first. Captain Spencer scores a hit on the Panzer IV; he is one of only two 76s in the entirety of the battalion and its additional punch is clear.

[Linked Image]

However, just as the Panzer IV is struck, it fires off one final shot. The round is airborne as the 67th turn ends. Nothing can be done but to wait and see.

I belatedly realize that I foolishly did not order marching fire on these farmsteads that dot the countryside as I moved to Moncourt. Though I have not been punished for this security lapse, a handful of dismounts with AT weapons could’ve savaged me. An infantry platoon will move to quickly sweep each farm as we pass it, and then re-enter the formation as reserve.

A platoon from A/10th moves up to belatedly secure the first farmstead, which houses the burning Panzer IV engaged way back during assembly. I expect to find nothing more than a few hiding crew members, given the lack of fire taken. A welcome dose of luck to make up for smarts, in this case.
Turns 68 – 70:

The shell hits the front wheel of a Sherman, severely damaging its mobility – but the tank is still operational and mobile, barely! Under cover from halftrack fire, a squad pushes up to investigate the farm and quickly captures and wounds an enemy crew sheltering in a barn.

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

Team Spencer wraps up the firefight with the Panzer IVs when the second one is taken in the rear by the tank section sweeping up behind it.

[Linked Image]

Team Leach is fully in their positions and ready to engage by the end of turn 70. Artillery is still three minutes out, which should give hopefully enough ample time to get Team Spencer back on track to attack Moncourt.

#4342174 - 03/05/17 03:28 PM Re: CM Normandy AAR: "Once and For All" [Re: Rinaldi_AARs]  
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oldgrognard Offline
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Wonderful AAR.


Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

Someday your life will flash in front of your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.
#4343267 - 03/09/17 11:13 PM Re: CM Normandy AAR: "Once and For All" [Re: oldgrognard]  
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Originally Posted by oldgrognard
Wonderful AAR.


Thank you!

Turns 71 to 74:

Frontage begins to compress to about 1100m total; an attempt to maximize firepower as the attack on Moncourt begin. Team Leach is holding its fire until Team Spencer has advanced to a point where it too can fire at Moncourt, the intention is for all teams to open fire roughly at the same time to maximize shock effect and rob the enemy of any safe zone to displace to. There is one exception, however: a Panzer IV is spotted dug in on the main street of Ley and is engaged and destroyed by elements of Team Leach.

By turn 73, the barrage has begun:

[Linked Image]

Moncourt, like Ley, is subject to a fire concentration by the 94th Armored Field Artillery. The barrage at its current intensity is set to last approximately 5 minutes. The hope is to be ready to dismount and break in as the barrage lifts.

Team Spencer’s rough entry plan is set out below. Marching fire from the tanks will cover a tight formation; the infantry carriers will only be moving approximately 15 seconds behind the armor. The biggest problem area, asides from the buildings themselves is the orchard to the flank; all of these areas will be a focus for fire. Team Leach’s fire should be hitting the buildings across the street and not easily fired upon by Spencer, giving (hopefully) total coverage. For the sake of speed, I will forego the use of smoke this time around. A full three platoons will be attacking this time, and no more than a platoon of tanks will break into Moncourt with the infantry, just as at Ley.

[Linked Image]

Again it’s hard to overemphasize the assumption of risk it takes to do a maneuver like this, but there’s a lot to be said for the high risk, high reward route. We must hope that the sheer overwhelming amount of firepower about to be unleashed on this small village is as impressive in effect as it will no doubt look.

#4344437 - 03/15/17 01:04 AM Re: CM Normandy AAR: "Once and For All" [Re: Rinaldi_AARs]  
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We've entered the end-game! Thank you to those who have followed the thread. I look forward to starting the next scenario assigned to me in this project. Hopefully this preview AAR will show off what type of terrain you will be fighting the AI or your mates in. I think, its safe to say, that this should be a unique historical experience for CMBN. In a few days, I will be uploading a .pdf of this AAR for easier reading or if anyone wants to share this to a blog or something similar. Just need to proof read this word salad that passes for writing.

The End Game: Sweeping Moncourt (Turns 75 to Turn 90)

Things move quickly once the barrage begins, unlike Ley, there will be no mucking about, and I have no desire to have my dismounts stand under withering artillery fire as they fight on foot over the gentle, open Lorraine pastureland. The 105 barrage is helped along by direct fire from both maneuver teams armored elements. Team Leach, and HQ/37th in particular deliver withering fire in excess of 1800m, smashing Ley with HE and .50 caliber fire.

As I hoped, the fire on Moncourt greatly is exceeding even that put down on Ley. The town being slightly smaller definitely helps concentrate fire, and soon buildings begin collapsing at a breathtaking rate. Moments like this made me wish CM had dynamic fire. Under such withering HE fire even the stone and plaster houses of inner France would be a blazing inferno on the horizon. Regardless, Moncourt is soon covered in a thick cloud of dust.

[Linked Image]

Team Spencer’s armor is moving and firing consistently, inexorably towards Moncourt, adding to the overwhelming fire. The tankers are unbuttoned but MG fire soon forces a few to duck their heads in. The very fact that they are still taking MG fire is disheartening – the Germans seem willing to cling to their positions and fight, as they had in Ley. Soon, however, the tankers have a bigger threat to worry about. Arrayed in a hedgehog formation around the open town square and Eglise is a platoon of Panzer IVs.

In the ensuing exchange of fire, a Sherman is struck twice and is knocked out – but the Panzer IVs, buttoned up and firing through a pall of dust and smoke, come off the worse. Two are swiftly knocked out and the remaining two are knocked out in the short but sharp street fighting that follows.

[Linked Image]

By the 78th turn the artillery barrage that has covered the advance of Team Spencer begins to abate. It’s the moment of truth, buttoned up for their duel with the Panzers, I cannot gauge how many Germans are still in position to threaten a dismount. The tanks of Team Spencer spray the row houses that could threaten my halftracks with coax and HE and we get in among the enemy.

[Linked Image]

The halftracks move in at top speed – frankly shocking me with how rapidly they can move with a ‘fast’ command – and unceremoniously dump their infantry not even 50m from the houses. The HTs are not greeted with a maelstrom of small arms fire, a fantastic sign. The infantry quickly hustles forwards.

[Linked Image]

The plan for clearing the town is unchanged from Ley. A lot of speculative fire on each and every single house followed by 2 to 4 man teams – preferably armed with BARs, probe forward to either secure the house or cut down the stunned Germans as they attempt to slip out. Just like at Ley, it works; and at a much faster rate than before! The German garrison do not share their predecessors stomach for the fight and often make a run for it at the last possible moment, drawing furious amounts of fire from the over watching infantry. Soon a proper foothold is made, the infantry takes a deep breath, waits for weapon teams and tanks to cut the road and establish kill-zones, and presses on.

[Linked Image]

The German defenders of Moncourt are rapidly reduced to a horde of refugees running for cover; only a few HMGs covering the town length-wise and evidently spared from the overwhelming barrage cause us any trouble. Tank-infantry teams rapidly deal with them as they are identified, though a few bursts cause light losses.

These same tank-infantry teams cause the bulk of losses to the fleeing, shell-shocked enemy. Caught in kill-zones, just as they ultimately were at Ley, the slaughter is once more prodigious.

[Linked Image]

The enemy surrender with about an hour of play left. Moncourt, despite having more forces arrayed within it, is taken in a quarter of a time as Ley was. The shift to more shock-focused tactics seems to pay off, once again showing that high-risk, high-reward maneuvers have their place in Combat Mission if you have the firepower to dole out.

An enemy surrender automatically gives an attacker a total victory - and despite fairly serious tank losses, I can be well satisfied with the outcome. The losses, unsurprisingly, are concentrated in Team Spencer, whom assaulted both Moncourt and Ley. Tank losses are a bit more spread out, but from an operational objective I have met the demands placed upon me by Combat Command A: My taskforce is more than capable of fighting at a similar intensity on short notice.

It is worth noting that, functionally, my tank losses are closer to the Germans; I have several ‘mission killed’ tanks with damaged main weaponry or damaged tracks. I would estimate my actual losses at approximately 12 tanks – still a highly favorable loss ratio and it leaves Abrams with more than enough tanks to continue offensive and defensive actions.

Indeed, such emphasis on ammo and force preservation will probably be needed, should our development team package these missions as a continuous campaign. wink

[Linked Image]

#4344607 - 03/15/17 05:07 PM Re: CM Normandy AAR: "Once and For All" [Re: Rinaldi_AARs]  
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Nixer Offline
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Great job Rinaldi.

One of the better AAR's seen here in a while, in my opinion.

Thanks for the enjoyment. thumbsup


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#4344629 - 03/15/17 06:50 PM Re: CM Normandy AAR: "Once and For All" [Re: Rinaldi_AARs]  
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Thanks!

I was almost sure that the little forest was occupied with at least one PaK.... Glad you made it...

#4345012 - 03/17/17 01:17 PM Re: CM Normandy AAR: "Once and For All" [Re: piston79]  
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Originally Posted by Nixer
Great job Rinaldi.

One of the better AAR's seen here in a while, in my opinion.

Thanks for the enjoyment. thumbsup


Thank you, it was good fun to write.

Originally Posted by piston79
Thanks!

I was almost sure that the little forest was occupied with at least one PaK.... Glad you made it...


You know, when we were designing the scenario, we were actually astounded at how few PaK guns were involved historically in the action; it appears that there were a handful of Infantry Guns and Pak-Guns, and all of the latter were on the high ground. It's tough to playtest your own mission and not look omniescent. Its part of the reason why I rigidly sticked to the American scheme of maneuver used in reality.

I'm hoping to do a more, streamlined, refined AAR (only a few pages in length, or so) of this mission again, now that it has been finalized and playtested to death by others.

#4345173 - 03/18/17 12:39 AM Re: CM Normandy AAR: "Once and For All" [Re: Rinaldi_AARs]  
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Really enjoyed that. Thanks!


Rabbits, break right and climb.
#4345534 - 03/20/17 03:01 AM Re: CM Normandy AAR: "Once and For All" [Re: Rinaldi_AARs]  
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Yes indeed; that was a good AAR. I am surprised at how many Panzers were destroyed and how relatively easily they were dispatched.


Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

Someday your life will flash in front of your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.
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