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-   -   AAR: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45! (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=49284)

Taskforce November 4th, 2012 08:02 AM

The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
 
This isn't my first SPWW2 AAR, but it is the very first one that I'm writing about here. I plan on writing one AAR every Sunday - hopefully, since my family also takes up a lot of time - and there will be a total of 10 battles taking place between June 1944 and May 1945.

The final push towards Berlin on the Eastern Front!

Basic force:

-Soviet HQ + Boys Carrier (8 men)
-Tank Batallion (32 T-34/85 - 160 men)
-Tank Destroyer Battery (11 SU-85 - 44 men)
-Assault Gun Platoon (5 SU-122 - 20 men)
-Artillery Regiment (8 122 mm - 288 men)
-Forward Observation vehicles (2 BA-20M - 6 men)
-Anti-Aircraft Platoon (4 GAZ-AA 37 - 24 men)
-Anti-Tank Battery (6 57 mm L73 - 30 men)
-Infantry (8 Rifle & 1 MG Companies and 8 Bazooka - 1.276 men)

This mighty force will go head to head with the still mighty German forces, and hopefully be a powerfull fighting force until the very end.

Battle one:

Belorussia, June 1944 - Meeting Engagement

Support forces:

-2 Rocket Batallions (50 static BM-31 rocket platforms - 300 men)
-Air Support (4 IL-2 Shturmovik - 8 men)

Let the battle begin!

Cheers, Taskforce

RightDeve November 4th, 2012 08:27 AM

Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
 
Screenshots and maps will be very handy.

Taskforce November 4th, 2012 11:35 AM

Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
 
Don't worry, here it comes.

http://s16.postimage.org/69rvfcn39/Battle_1_Turn_0.jpg

The plan is simple:

Force A consists of infantry, a SU-85, a SU-122 and a BA-20M. They are supported by two 57 mm anti-tank guns and a MG, and their job is to advance and secure the north region.

Force B consists of infantry and a SU-85. They are backed up by two 57 mm anti-tani guns on the road to their south. Their job is to advance and secure the large wooded area.

Force C consists of infantry, a SU-85 and a SU-122. Their job is to advance and secure the large open area south of the road.

Force D consists of the tank batallion, some SU-85s, some SU-122s and a BA-20M. Their rear is secured by two 57 mm anti-tank guns and a MG. Their job is to advance deep into enemy territory, sweep through it and then return towards their own lines to hopefully attack enemy units from behind.

The whole attack is supported by the BM-31 static rocket platforms, grouped in the two wooded areas to the rear, plus the artillery regiment and the four IL-2 Shturmovics. The artillery regiment and the air support is planned to be used multiple times against different areas, depending on where the threats appear, and the BM-31 static rocket platoforms to be used once with concentrated fire against one single area once.

The battle begins...

Cheers, Taskforce

RightDeve November 4th, 2012 10:47 PM

Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
 

There you go...

When you're inside the forum's word editor, press that yellow button with scenery image on it, then paste the image URL into the box and ok.

Or, you can just copy paste this below code and put the image URL right inside of it:

[IMG]image url here[/IMG]

Taskforce November 11th, 2012 05:15 PM

Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
 
Battle report:

http://s8.postimage.org/4u61ey4tx/Ba..._Turn_33_1.jpg

Force A advanced as planned when the two anti-tank guns saw three armoured scout vehicles and destroyed two of them. After that five PzIV were seen and eventuelly four of them were destroyed by the commander of the SU-85 battery. The fifth and the last scout vehicle were destroyed by the infantry. Combat losses consisted of a SU-85. After this the infantry turned south and south-west and the SU-85 command vehicle together with the BA-20M continued west. The BA-20M was later destroyed by a anti-tank gun.

http://s13.postimage.org/g5mnu8jfr/B..._Turn_33_2.jpg


Force B advanced according to plan, but were unlucky enough to face a large number of Panther tanks in the forrest area. It was decided by the taskforce commander to give the entire firesupport from the BM-31 static rocket platforms to this area, which resulted in a large number of immobilised Panther tanks, of which all but two later were destroyed by the infantry, which took very heavy losses during the battle. One more was destroyed by a anti-tank gun positioned near the road and the last one survived and could be towed away by the surviving Panther tanks after the battle.

http://s12.postimage.org/iwjqsn5tp/B..._Turn_33_3.jpg

Force C also advanced according to plan, but were also unlucky to face a large number of Panther tanks, that were traveling on the road. After this this force was pretty much stuck here and also took heavy losses, although not as heavy as those of force B. They were able to destroy a platoon of Puma armoured scout vehicles and a Panther, but couldn't do much more during the battle.

http://s15.postimage.org/7wrscujx7/B..._Turn_33_4.jpg

Force D had a good start and at first destroyed a PzIV platoon for only one combat loss and then were able to destroy two captured T-34/76 and some anti-tank guns for a few more combat losses. After that the force splitted up into two groups, one heading north towards the flags and one heading west. The group heading west continued to destroy several anti-aircraft guns and most importantly the German' artillery support and managed to capture and hold all the flags to the rear of the German' area. The group heading north however were wiped out by the Panther tanks.

http://s9.postimage.org/me2c94sdb/Ba..._Turn_33_5.jpg

The areas of force A and force B remained calm and they were able to maintain control of their objectives, even though it was at the cost of very high losses. The combined rear area of force C and force D were in danger as the Panther tanks, supported by PzIV tanks, broke through the defensive line. It was now that the anti-tank guns near the road and in the south-east performed a wonder and managed to destroy six Panther and one PzIV tanks for the loss of only one crewman. They also contributed in the destruction of yet another Panther tank by tracking it so it could be destroyed by a IL-2 Shturmovic.

http://s14.postimage.org/v8m9xi9cx/B..._Turn_33_6.jpg

After these actions some flags could be re-captured by MG units to the rear of the Soviet area.

http://s10.postimage.org/g5tdaxkft/B..._Turn_33_7.jpg

Losses:

The Soviet taskforce lost a total of 34 tanks and 695 men, mostly infantry, and the German taskforce a total of 55 tanks, 4 halftracks, 21 artillery and about 750 men in total.

http://s17.postimage.org/fe5huqx0f/B..._Turn_33_8.jpg

The tank battalion lost 22 tanks and 19 crews. The tank destroyer battery lost 6 tanks and 3 crews. The assault gun platoon lost 4 tanks and 3 crews. The BM-20M unit lost 1 armoured vehicle and 1 crew.

http://s15.postimage.org/6j9c90zff/B..._Turn_33_9.jpg

Claims:

The tank battalion claimed 14 tanks, 4 halftracks and 16 artillery destroyed. The tank destroyer battery claimed 17 tanks destroyed. The anti-tank gun battery claimed 10 tanks destroyed. The infantry as a whole claimed to have destroyed 12 tanks and armoured vehicles plus 5 artillery in close combat actions. And finally one of the supporting IL-2 Shturmovics claimed 1 Panther destroyed.

Battle result:

The result of this battle was a draw, as neither side had an advantage and held some lf the flags.

Replacing losses:

Since more than enough T-34/85 tanks were held in reserve, replacing the losses suffered by the tank battalion was no problem. It was also no problem to replace the entire losses suffered by the infantry. Four of the infantry companies also got their MG units replaced with Bazooka teams and the MG company was transformed into a pure HMG company, replacing the LMG units with HMG units.

The losses of the tank destroyer battery was a bigger issue however, since not enough SU-85 tank destroyers were available, because of this only the surviving crews got a replacement SU-85, increasing its strength from 4 to just 7 tank destroyers.

It was decided to re-build the assault gun platoon from scratch and with the good connections of the task force commander it was possible to replace the remaining SU-122 with two ISU-122 tank destroyers. If successful during the next battle, three more ISU-122 will be given to the unit, effectively transforming it into a complete tank destroyer platoon.

The BA-20M was not replaced.

New basic force:

Basic force:

-Soviet HQ + Boys Carrier (8 men)
-Tank Battalion (32 T-34/85 - 160 men)
-Tank Destroyer Battery (7 SU-85 - 28 men)
-Assault Gun Platoon (2 ISU-122 - 8 men)
-Artillery Regiment (8 122 mm - 288 men)
-Forward Observation vehicles (1 BA-20M - 3 men)
-Anti-Aircraft Platoon (4 GAZ-AA 37 - 24 men)
-Anti-Tank Battery (6 57 mm L73 - 30 men)
-Infantry (8 infantry & 1 MG Companies and 12 Bazooka - 1.184 men)

Battle Two:

Vilna, July 1944 - Meeting Engagement

Support forces:

-Tank Company (10 IS-II - 40 men)
-Air Support (2 IL-2 Shturmovic - 4 men)

Note: With a family to care for, it's a lot of work. I'll hopefully be able to post my next AAR next Sunday. If not, you'll simply have to wait one more week. Btw, just in case someone wonders, I've added the IMG tags in this post, but the pics still only show as links.

Taskforce November 11th, 2012 06:28 PM

Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
 
http://s14.postimage.org/wp3t31syp/B...2_Turn_0_1.jpg

The attack force consists of three tank forces - force A, force B and force C - and four infantry forces - force 1, force 2 force 3 and force 4. Each tank force consists of three IS-II and ten T-34/85 tanks, with force B re-enforced with two more T-34/85 tanks.

The support forces - the anti-tank guns, the SU-85 and ISU-122 tank destroyers, the remaining IS-II heavy tank and all of the HMGs - are spread out on the high grounds opposite the high grounds, where the flag groups are located.

Force A will attack to the north and then split up into two groups, one heading west and one heading south, towards the north flag group.

Force B and Force C will start at different points but both will have the mission objective of capturing the flag group to the south.

Parts of all the tank forces will have the job of securing the rear sector of the German area.

Force 1 and force 2 will have the objective of capturing the flag group to the north.

Force 3 will try to capture the flag group in the middle.

Force 4 will try to capture the south flag group.

Let the battle begin...

Spledge November 18th, 2012 04:27 PM

Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
 
RE: AAR report #6

Is tank Group C actually advancing through the trees on the southern edge of the map or will it utilize the east-west road about 10 hexes north of the southern map edge?

Enjoying your AARs,
Spledge

Taskforce November 18th, 2012 06:47 PM

Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
 
The infantry, force 4, is advancing on the dirt road and the tanks, force C, is moving through the forest area. This way it will hopefully avoid detection as long as possible, with lots of Panther tanks probably being part of the German' taskforce and the T-34/85 being very easy do destroy for a Panther while a T-34/85 has big problems destroying a Panther, especially with a frontal hit.

Cheers, Taskforce

Taskforce November 18th, 2012 07:04 PM

Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
 
http://s9.postimage.org/r5t38c41b/Ba..._Turn_21_3.jpg

Right from the very beginning of the battle, the artillery fire, while softening up the rear area of the south flag group, managed to destroy two anti-tank guns on the dirt road.

http://s7.postimage.org/w9vkfrqsr/Ba..._Turn_21_4.jpg

Force A, force 1 and force 2 all advanced towards the north flag group. The tanks faced two armoured recon vehicles and five Panther tanks and all were destroyed by the IS-II tanks. At the same time lots of German’ tanks, mostly Panthers, were advancing on the north road and managed to take the flag, although suffering some losses from the support units on the opposite high ground. Finally the back of the attack was broken by an air attack by the two IL-2 Shturmovic ground attack aircraft, which destroyed two tanks and tracked a further three. After this the T-34/85 tanks could go around, behind the German’ tanks while the IS-II tanks moved in to destroy the remaining tanks. While this was going on , the infantry was slowly but surly advancing and also destroying some tanks. Two IS-II were destroyed, but the third held on, although being tracked, and this combined with the support fire from the opposite high ground, ensured a secure capture of the north flag group.

http://s13.postimage.org/5vrjtukrr/B..._Turn_21_5.jpg

Force 3 advanced according to plan, but suffered both losses and ran into problems when the fast advancing Panther tanks spotted them after capturing the north and centre flag groups and also called in artillery. It was only after the successes and advancing of the other forces that the infantry was able to capture the centre flag group and also destroy one of the Panther tanks.

http://s7.postimage.org/bw4fkdk6j/Ba..._Turn_21_6.jpg

Force B, force C and force 4 all reached their objective very fast and managed to capture the south flag group in the very beginning, and after this never gave way nor lost a single flag to the German’ forces. Although suffering losses, especially among the T-34/85 tanks, the managed to stop a powerful counter attack by nine PzIV tanks with some help from the T-34/85 tanks from force A. As the infantry took control of the flags, most of the tanks advanced behind German’ lines, destroying several artillery units and depleting the German’ Panther tanks of their support units.

http://s17.postimage.org/n0qbcqgn3/B..._Turn_21_7.jpg

These combined attacks ensured a near total victory over the German’ taskforce.

http://s18.postimage.org/73jbexeqx/B..._Turn_21_9.jpg

Losses:

The Soviet taskforce lost a total of 23 tanks and 295 men, mostly infantry, and the German taskforce a total of 65 tanks, 4 halftracks, 17 artillery and just over 500 men in total.

http://s9.postimage.org/5d9kfpb3j/Ba...Turn_21_10.jpg

6 German’ tanks and 9 German’ artillery pieces were found abandoned by the Soviet’ forces - of the 6 tanks, 5 were Panther tanks, of which 4 only had their tracks shot off and the last had its main gun destroyed by its crew before surrendering. The last abandoned tank was a PzIV.

http://s13.postimage.org/7so9yfbfr/B...Turn_21_11.jpg

Thus 4 Panther tanks could be put into service right away and after extensive repairs of the main gun, which is going to take some time, the last captured Panther can be put into service as well. The captured PzIV, it was decided, was given to another taskforce, since the captured Panther tanks would have a greater combat value and survivability on the battlefield.

The tank battalion lost 17 tanks and 12 crews. The tank destroyer battery lost 2 tanks and 2 crews. The BM-20M unit lost 1 armoured vehicle and 1 crew. The AA platoon lost 1 vehicle and 1 crew. The IS-II company lost 2 tanks and 2 crews. The IL-2 ground attack aircraft lost 1 airplane and 1 crew.

Claims:

The tank battalion claimed 22 tanks and 5 artillery destroyed. The tank destroyer battery claimed 4 tanks destroyed. The anti-tank gun battery claimed 1 tank and 4 halftracks destroyed. The tank destroyer platoon claimed 3 tank destroyed. The infantry as a whole claimed to have destroyed 6 tanks in close combat actions. The artillery claimed two artillery destroyed. The IS-II company claimed 22 tanks and 1 artillery destroyed. And finally the supporting IL-2 Shturmovics claimed 2 tanks destroyed.

Battle result:

Although the Soviet’ forces controlled all the flags and most of the area behind the German’ lines, three isolated pockets of resistance only made this battle a minor victory.

Replacing losses:

The four captured Panther tanks, renamed T-5g, and a T-44 pre-production tank, given to the taskforce in order to test its performance during combat conditions, meant that only 12 T-34/85 were needed to replace the ones lost during the battle. After the next battle, the fifth T-5g will see service with the Soviet’ taskforce, until then it is being used for training purposes for within the taskforce.

The losses suffered by the tank destroyer battery meant that its force shrunk from seven to just five SU-85. But the commander of the taskforce arranged to have the existing SU-85 replaced by five SU-85M, with stronger frontal armour and a greater chance for the veteran crews survival.

With the success of the two ISU-122, destroying three tanks for the loss of only a single crewmember - one of the two ISU-122 taking more than 15 hits and still surviving the battle - it was decided to give it a further three ISU-122, making it a fully operational tank destroyer platoon.

The BA-20M was not replaced. It will still be decided what to replace the two lost BA-20M with. However, two 76,2 mm anti-tank guns are among the alternatives.

The destroyed GAZ-AA 37 mm was replaced.

New basic force:

Basic force:

-Soviet HQ + Boys Carrier (8 men)
-Tank Battalion (27 T-34/85, 4 T-5g & 1 T-44 pre-production - 159 men)
-Tank Destroyer Battery (5 SU-85M - 20 men)
-Assault Gun Platoon (5 ISU-122 - 20 men)
-Artillery Regiment (8 122 mm - 288 men)
-Anti-Aircraft Platoon (4 GAZ-AA 37 - 24 men)
-Anti-Tank Battery (6 57 mm L73 - 30 men)
-Infantry (8 infantry & 1 MG Companies and 16 Bazooka - 1.160 men)

Battle Two:

Poland, August 1944 - Delay

Support forces:

-Tank Destroyer Group (2 M10 Wolverine)
-Air Support (6 IL-2 Shturmovic - 12 men)

RightDeve November 18th, 2012 10:04 PM

Re: The final push towards Berlin 1944-45!
 
Those images show up just fine on my computer.
Could be some sort of forum or browser error since one can see the pictures while others can not. I'm using Opera by the way.


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