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A runamia AAR
This is the history of a Romanian infantry reinforced battalion leaded by the Lt. Col Samoila versus the Russian forces.
The initial core force is: 3 x infantry companies 1 x engineer section 6 x R2 tank (aka Pz.Kpfw. 35(t)) 2 x 47 mm AT sections plus prime mover ( 8 tubes) 1 x field gun battery (4 tubes) 1 x Off map gun battery (3 tubes) 1 x Artillery observer 4 x Ammo truck 6 x heavy truk A few iron man rules: - Support points will be used only for mines, trenches, etc in defensive misions or air strikes if available. - Only victory objectives blocks will be used, having them spread for all the map doesn't seems realistic to me. - No reloads. |
Re: A runamia AAR
First battle (meeting engagement - 32 turn - visibility 13):
Battle plan: Companies A and B will advance over the north and center victory objectives while C and tanks (T) are kept in reserve. AA guns will cover the south flank. Once targets are controlled A and B will turn right to reach the third objective. http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/9981/battleplan.jpg GO: Company A and B advanced to their objectives supported by AT guns, with some scouts behind. Through the north way a few bt2 were detected, AT guns were fast deployed and neutralized them. After that, an armor assault was focused at the south flank of the B company which was near to reach his target, they had the support of two at-guns only, so they took cover at the small forest in front of the victory objective. Some other tanks where detected through the gap between A and B companies , but the AT support there is able to neutralize them without problems. For the surprise of the B company after a small fire exchange the enemy tanks outflanked without engaging them, one AT gun was lost . Now the enemy tanks were heading our battalion rear, which was only protected by a few AA guns, the Lt.Col. dispatched the tank reserve to protect it. At the north, over the horizon some enemy infantry squad were detected, our men take fire positions in a tree line and waited. B company became under heavy artillery fire, suppressing them, also 12 more tanks were heading them, it seems that they were the target of the main armor assault, but his two AT guns had been neutralized, one destroyed and the other one crew less. The tank reserve was moved ahead to support them after secure the battalion rear. At same time large number of enemy infantry were reaching the north victory block, artillery fire was plotted on them, Company C on trucks fast moved to the Company A rear ready to support them if necessary. http://yfrog.com/9fbattleturn10j The situation is really bad, at the north a big infantry assault threat the A company, some of their squad are routing under heavy small arms fire of the enemy, C was deployed to support them. The Lt. Col. Samoila hoped that the artillery fire will be enough to stop them, but their numbers were huge. At the center the situation of the B company was still worse, they were in a real danger to be overrun, our tank force arrived and were near to fall over the enemy flank in a desperate attempt to stop the armor assault, but a retread to a second line covered by smoke grenades was ordered by Cpt. Modreanv because company situation was to exposed. The only good new was that one AT gun could be recrewed and moved to a better position. After few minutes of hard fight the enemy tank force, literally went over the the B company and headed to north to support the massive infantry assault. The re-crewed gun was finally destroyed, most of B squads were routed, all of them have had causalities, a few have lost even 50% of their men. The only hope was our own tank force which successfully have attacked the enemy flank and now was at the rear of the enemy force. Then the miracle !!! our tanks, forming a compact formation, destroyed 5 enemy ones for only one of ours slightly damaged. The squads of the B company which has had less loses joined them and close assaulted the tanks, they couldn't destroy anyone but provided cover for our own armor. The B company plus the tank force exploited their success, quickly advanced over the victory box forcing the enemy to retread. At the north the company A and C could kept the ground, and now the artillery was blasting over the infantry horde, also the tanks which the enemy had moved to support them was having heavy losses due our AT guns. After some fight at the center objective the enemy defense fall, now Romanian troops control the central victory objective. A few scouts were dispatched to the south target to check the enemy forces at the area. The Russian north offensive was stuck mainly because the artillery fire which suppressed the infantry as expected, the AT guns eliminated the tanks which came to help, then the A and C companies launched a counter attack, after few minutes they manage to reach the victory objective and Russian troops flied. Finally the scout patrol sent to the south target manage to capture it on their own due the lack of opposition. A Decisive Victory for us !!! |
Re: A runamia AAR
Second Battle (meeting engagement - 36 turn - visibility 62):
Pre-Battle: After the previous battle it was obvious that the artillery of the battalion was inadequate, the fire power showed by Russian was far superior so we have been reinforced with a 80 mm mortar section. Also enemy armor probed to be a big problem, infantry weapons were absolutely inadequate even at short range, also at guns were short of number to deal with the large forces which enemy was deploying. Despite our request nothing was get from the HQ. Battle Plan There is a river crossing the area, all victory objectives are at our river side, so it will provide an excellent natural defense mainly at the north, it is plausible that enemy will use the diagonal road to develop its main effort. Company A from advance over the north objective and will take defensive positions at our river side, also heavy artillery will blow the bridge. At the south C company will advance and will set an ambush around the victory objective in the forest. B company will be deployed at the center to cover with is fire the center victory objective with AT-gun support, also will keep the truck section to be able fast response if necessary. Tanks will be the reserve. http://img230.imageshack.us/img230/6662/battleplan2.jpg GO After few attempts the north bridge was blow when the enemy tanks were reaching it. Locking that the enemy armor is using the north road, the Lt. Col. Samoila ordered the B company to advance over the center objective, it will led the battalion without an infantry reserve, but they would be able to take an easy target. The At-gun was stopping the enemy tanks at the north road, meanwhile the rest of the front is quiet, the C company is deploying his ambush near the south objective and the B company had bypassed the objective seeking for a better fire position. 6 bt2 are detected at the south, they bypassed the objective, they were still far so AA-guns, At-guns and tanks were ordered to hold the fire and led then get near to give them a good surprise. Meanwhile more tanks reached the destroyed bridge, heavy artillery was firing over them. But one thing surprised the Cpt Modreanv, a big noise is noticed in front of the B company, suddenly from the trees appeared a big tank, with many turrets. It looks like a very different thing than this poorly BTs. The bridge defense was hard, despite the artillery support the enemy were able to cross the river an establish a bridge head, enemy artillery suppressed our men and the AT-Guns were abandoned. Two AT gun more were sent as reinforcement. At the center large number of enemy infantry was coming but the river was delaying them. BTW at the south some tanks were advancing into the forest but meanwhile weren't an immediate problem, they were close assaulted by infantry hidden in the trees. The fought at the north bridge continue, infantry kept trying to assault tanks and artillery was firing over them none of the sides was able to win the other one. At the center many infantry units were coming but the river was acting like a natural wall allowing B company to resist, also artillery was doing its job suppressing them. The south ambush had been successful, all the enemy tanks was destroyed, fought was hard some squads ran out of hand grenades, but the victory was absolute. At the north road the A company has destroyed the bridge head at our river side, now the enemy has retread to the other side, most of their armor was destroyed, and his infantry support was routing. The center victory objective was secured by the B company many of the enemies were routed and it didn't seem that there was any danger, anyway our tanks reserve was sent there to deal with the t28 heavy tanks. http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/305/turn11.jpg Once the 3 victory objective seems to be secured new orders were dispatched, company C should advance through the south road to attack the enemy rear. Trucks were sent to support the advance. The enemy keeps trying to assault the center victory objective, they were bombing our men with heavy fire but we manage to keep the line, our tanks were very effective against the enemy squads, t28 probed to be vulnerable to our guns despite several shoot were needed. At the south the company C advances slowly, the road was to dangerous to go on truck, so we had to be cautious, anyway they manage to infiltrate and reached an artillery position destroying 3 guns. Decisive victory for us !!! |
Re: A runamia AAR
Third Battle (advance - turns 36 - visibility 45):
Pre-Battle Our battalion has been restructured, companies has lost his recon elements (scouts) and were replaced by two man AT-teams armed with Molotov cocktails or tellermines. A fourth company has added, it was to be the recon element of the battalion so they numbers were: 2 x motorbikes 8 x scouts 3 x sniper Battle Plan There was a river dividing the map in two areas the north and the south, there was a bridge to cross the river but it was in the enemy rear. Two victory objectives were at the north and the other one at the south. When preparing the battle it become obvious that north and south troops couldn't be able to support each other. Also if we try to deploy 2 reserve forces, they had to be to small, and deploying only one will led one of the attack vectors weakened. Finally it was decided to attack through only one side of the river, concentrating all the force to fast overrun the defenders and use the bridge to cross the river and attack the enemy from the rear. The south side was chosen because it had a road to speed up our attack also it has only one victory objective so lees defenders were expected. Company D (recon) will fast advance to the objective, near followed by company B, C and tanks using the road, once near the objective C will move through the forest to reach the bridge, meanwhile B will assault the south objective. A on trucks will be the reserve. Speed was very important or we will lack of time to take the two north objectives, also we needed the bridge in one piece, so we had to be carefully with artillery usage. http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/3855/battleplan3.jpg GO: Motorbikes where launched fast to the objective, for our surprise no enemy was found until we were near to reach the victory objective, we expected that south defenses could be weak, but it was better than our most optimistic thoughts. Company B engaged the enemy squads defending the objective but they old the line, after a short fire exchange the defenders retreat a bit, but the Lt. Col Samoila decided that he could no waste time to secure the objective, so ordered to B company split his forces in 2 teams, 2 infantry sections (call them B') has ordered to keep the defenders pinned meanwhile C company arrive and the rest of the company will advance through the road to secure the bridge. Meanwhile Company B was engaging the defenders some tanks were detected hidden in the forest, our tank section was sent to deal with them, they were destroyed without any loss. Once done tanks joined to the B company through the road to reach the bridge. Looking the situation enemy tried to move force from the north to the south, some infantry squads appeared in the border of the forest next to the north river bank, C company was ordered to change their way an intercept them. Also a small force was detected at the bridge road, 2 bt 7 tanks and 2 heavy machine guns. 75 mm artillery was plotted on the bridge to suppress the machine guns plus any other hidden unit without damaging it. But our troops advanced faster than expected, BTs were destroyed when they tried to advance through the road and our own tanks destroyed the machine guns, unfortunately no counter order was sent to the artillery and our troops were gunned by our own fire, one tank was immobilized as result. By the time B' forced enemy troops to route, also detected some mortars and guns which were neutralized, the south objective was secured. At the river bank, more and more enemy troops were saw, so reserve was sent to help company C which was under enemy artillery fire. The half company B sent through the road established a bridge head at the other side of the river, and was to reach the victory objective, but a hidden At-gun destroyed one of our tanks, also some infantry squad pinned our men, smoke was launched, artillery was plotted and snipers were ordered to find good firing positions. http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/7...tle3turn20.jpg B' kept moving through the rear trying to locate more enemy artillery but for our surprise located the enemy HQ, we launched our forces over him, after a short fight the HQ was destroyed. At the river bank the enemy resist into the forest, our men were at open field so they were in disadvantage, also enemy artillery was creating problems, our own artillery was ordered to suppress them. At the bridge head things were going mad, large numbers of enemies move out from the forest, they were very low of moral so got routed even with only one casualty, but they were many !!! and our force was to tinny, we were having problems to deal with them, and our infantry squad were forced into melee combats several times. The result was an absolute massacre for Russian but with a high price for our men. After that all resistance stopped, any remaining unit fly as soon as our troops open fire, the victory objective were secured without more losses. Decisive victory for us !!! Post Battle thoughts: It has been one of the funniest battles I ever played, the attack of the infantry at the river bank surprised me, reserve was still to far to deal with them and forced to alter the plan sending the C company to block the counter attack, it led the B company alone to take the 3 victory objective and protect them, the resistance at the south one was so weak and looking the number of units engaged at the river I though that the two north objective wouldn't have many defenders, by my surprise (again) there were many enemy infantry still there which I can destroy only because their moral was very low after losing their HQ. My worst fault was using the reserve to support C rather than advance with it through the road to support B sections at the north area, I really though that Russian will concentrate their effort in the river counterattack and didn't expected any kind of reserve at the victory objectives. Fortunately my men did a good job anyway. |
Re: A runamia AAR
Fourth battle (Advance - 32 turn 42 - visibility 76):
Battle plan: There was a river crossing the map, two victory objective were at the other river side, at the north there was a road with a bridge. The south terrain were dominated by two main hills. We will avoid using the road/bridge, we will use the hills to cover our advance, company A will approach for the north, B from the south,using a classic pincer movement. C on trucks and tanks will be the reserve. http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/9981/battleplan.jpg GO: Thanks to the great visibility our scouts located the enemy forces soon. It looked like the enemy put some efforts protecting the bridge, several infantry units were deployed in the plain next to it. The Lt. Col Samoila ordered plot the artillery fire over them, also two T34 were spotted, we had reports from Germans that those tanks were hard so we ovoid a direct fight. Heavy artillery was fired over them, after some rounds one was immobilized and the other one routed. Meanwhile the company A advanced through a pass between two hills letting a section with HMG support in a trees to cover their flank of an hypothetical advance of the enemy infantry at the other side of the river. Company B advance trough the south path, reaching the hill in front of the victory objective with few resistance. Tanks were ordered to move through the flank of the B company to add their firepower to the incoming assault, but they were ambushed by two AT-guns. Fortune were with us and they were able to retread with no losses, only two tanks were light damaged. Scouts checked that the victory objectives were lightly protected, it become obvious that enemy deployed their main forces at the north to protect the bridge, now our artillery was blocking the unit's shift that he was trying, so objectives were at our disposal. Reserve were ordered to support the assault, the only defenders were a few T-60 lightly supported by infantry. After a short fight the objectives were under our control. Decisive victory for us !!! Post Battle thoughts: It has been an easy battle mainly because the enemy failed deploying their forces, he protected an approach route which we didn't use and later on our artillery fire didn't allow him to move his units. The most important think is that Russian has begun to deploy T-34s, hard days will come. P.S. To the thread followers (if any). I have been on holidays, and haven't had time to keep the thread update, now at home the adventure of romanians will go on. |
Re: A runamia AAR
Fifth Battle ( Pursuit the enemy mission - 42 turn - visibility 76 )
Pre-Battle: After crushing the Russian the HQ has spotted a good opportunity to inflict a heavy damage to the enemy, we have been requested to pursuit enemy forces to break the front. Our forces were at 80% approx. Our major concern was the At-gun losses, only 5 were left. Considering that we had found some T34 before, it wasn't a good thing. Battle plan: The enemy had chosen a good position to play a defensive battle. There was a river which cross all the map from north to south, it got divided in two sub rivers so if you started at the map center you need two cross two river sections, at the south there was a road with a bridge. From previous battles we know that Russian often defend roads and bridges very well, so it looked like a hard way, but if we deploy our our forces at the north we must do a big encirclement or we must cross two river sections, also the terrain was plain with few vegetation offering poor cover. Finally it was decided to deploy our main forces at the south, company A will advance in parallel of the road using the terrain to cover the advance. B on trucks and tanks will try to advance as fast as possible to surround the south victory objective to fast destroy the defenders, then proceed to the two north ones. Company C will be deployed at the north, their primary goal was pin the defenders to not allow shift troops, their secondary goal was support the advance of B and tanks when they reach the enemy rear. http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/1729/battleplan5.jpg There wasn't reserve. So we played everything at the first shot. Go: Things went bad from the start. Enemy deployed many infantry squads in advanced positions, so company B had to unmount from their trucks after advance only few meters, even worse a lucky enemy artillery shot destroyed two AT-guns, lettings our south group with only one left. At the north C advanced and made contact with the enemy, with artillery support it managed to cross the river, but as soon as they was at the other side, resistance begun to be harder and they were unable to kept advancing. http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/4...ttleturn21.jpg Meanwhile at the south A,B and T manage to reach the objective surrounding it, enemy armor was located far, our tank guns were absolute useless at such distances. Our remaining At-gun was deployed and knock them but a lot of time was lost. With the objective on our hands our men tried to advance through the enemy rear to reach the north objectives. Despite the efforts of C company the enemy was able to shift some forces, about 6 tanks and 8 or 10 infantry squads. Tanks were fast neutralized at short distance by our ones, but infantry took a hill and we were unable to clear it until artillery arrived to suppress them, more time lost. Again advancing our tank force was ambushed by two at guns losing two thanks (crew was able to survive). Artillery was plotted over enemy At-guns and neutralized them. Finally all remaining forces advanced over the victory objectives capturing it. Marginal victory for us !! Post Battle thoughts: We failed to get a Decisive victory for only 200 points (approx.). I have played very bad this battle, recon force weren't enough and they didn't go advanced enough, also HMG couldn't keep the speed of the advance as consequently they weren't when most needed. Also the lack of reserve didn't allow to put more pressure when needed, but it was a well know risk. Also some bad look, losing two at-guns from a fortune shot at the game start was a big problem letting the south advance really compromised since our tank guns proved to be useless in large distances, we were lucky that enemy lacks of heavy armor this time. One note for the future, our battalion has heavy problems when fighting in open field due the poor effective range of our weapons, the worts is that there isn't anything in our country inventory which we can request to solve it. Lets hope next battle will be better. |
Re: A runamia AAR
just letting you know that Im enjoying reading this :)
NEver played as the rumanians |
Re: A runamia AAR
Sixth Battle ( Delay - 42 turn - visibility 39 )
Pre-Battle: After our failure to get a decisive victory the enemy seemed ready to launch a counter attack, we were ordered to delay their advance. The enemy armor was every day more advanced, we have concerns about our capacity to stop it. Battle plan: There was a road at the north which cross all the map from east to west, no river this time. Two victory objective were next to the road, they were behind a forest. The third victory objective was far at the south, also a behind small forest. Between them there was a big plain. Company A will be deployed at the north forest supported by two AT-guns. Company B will be deployed at the south forest supported by two AT-guns also. We will cover the gap between them with two AT-guns more plus the HMG section of the company C and snipers. Two AT-guns more, tanks plus company C without their HMG will be the reserve. The plan was simple, keept the ground. Use reserve as movile reinforcement. Go: After few minutes of calm some groups of light tanks (T60) could be spotted along all the front, orders were to hold the fire until enemy was really near. This was because the poor performance of out AT weapons vs the newer enemy armor. After successfully destroying the most of the light tanks their big brothers come, a big group of T-28 multiturrets at the north and center, A group of Valentine III at the south, and still more light tanks supporting them. Also some cavalry squads at the north and a big infantry group at the south. The firsts ones were neutralized by HMG fire, but our fire power was to low to stop the infantry. Heavy artillery was plotted over the T-28 groups, the advance at the center was fast neutralized, trough the north road the enemy advanced routing our AT-gun crews and entered into the forest. AT-teams were ready to ambush them, but they were far outnumbered. Also it become obvious that the south flank was so weak, a tank manage to do an encirclement and reach the victory objective, the engineers section engaged it in close combat and successfully destroyed. But there was a big concern about the possibility of a big group doing the same maneuver. One of the central HMG were ordered to reinforce this flank. At the south the Valentines III proved to be protected against our AT-guns even at short distance. So heavy artillery was requested to try to stop them . At the north forest enemy tanks advanced, orders were retread into the forest while fighting, set and ambush then move back and set a new ambush ... Our infantry close assaulted the enemy tanks all the time, the loses of Russian were huge. A remarkable action was done by the Caporal Duca Squad. Two tanks next to the south road border were to annihilate the Caporal Muru squad, Duca and his men were hidden at the north border of the road, when tanks were to attack he leaded his squads and attacked them at the back with hand grenades. They knocked a T-28, then another T-28 and finally a T-26. Three tanks in less than 10 minutes. Great !!!! (off topic: please add a game option to give medals for this kind of actions) At the south forest similar orders were dispatched, with similar results, as soon as tanks went inside the forest were assaulted taking heavy causalities, also enemy infantry squads were ambushed. Despite the valor of our men actions the situation of noth forest front was desperate , fight was very hard. Soviets were blasting the area with heavy artillery, many of their men died by friendly fire, also his tanks were suppressed by their fire. But at our lines the situation was chaotic, many squads were unable to move, neither advance or retread and were taking heavy loses. Company A have had about 60% of causalities. The only good thing was that enemies who arrives at the forest border was being destroyed by our tanks and AT-guns. At the south forest things went better, defense was solid, enemy lost many tanks and their artillery wasn't a big problem by now. Also C company arrived allowing an in depth defense which probed very effective. Then after the biggest artillery fire which we ever had seen the front at the north forest collapse, all men remaining of the A company flies, the forest was on Russian hands, now our tanks had to defend the forest border at any price. Fortunately enemy tanks reached the forest border one by one, rather than in a compact block, so our tiny defenses can deal with them. Also some infantry reached the victory objectives by the road, our mortars fired over them, after few fire exchange they routed. Finally enemy attack lost their force and we were able to take the control of the forest back to our hands. Marginal victory for us !! Post Battle thoughts: It was a hard battle, enemy number were really big, enemy armor was far better than our self, for example 3 R2 have fired to a 1 Valentine at 100m without being able to knock it, even our AT-guns had problems in medium range distance (more than 500m). As example of numbers, enemy deployed: --------------Total---destroyed---routed T28--------------19-----18---------1 T60--------------13-----13---------0 Valentine III----27-----18---------9 T26--------------20-----19---------1 Everything vs 6xR2 tanks and 8x47 mm AT-guns. Obviously infantry had to play a big antitank role. The worst is that enemy will kept improving their numbers and material while we can expect anything new for a long time. |
Re: A runamia AAR
Quote:
I had one platoon of engineers & one squad virtually single handidly killed a couple of squads & 8 tanks or caused them to bail. I had other problems so all he got was the odd squad to help him but they kept running. His valient actions meant managed to free some units to bail him out by which time all he had was rifle rounds left. Never seen it repeated they held at all costs & were not even dug in. |
Re: A runamia AAR
Seventh Battle ( Advance - 46 turn - visibility 26 )
Pre-Battle: In recognition of the battalion victories Lt Cap. Samoila has received a Steyr 440 car for his personal use. Battle plan: Winter was here, first snow had fallen. The area of operations was plain with two small hills at the north-center and a forest in front of the second hill, there was a road at the south going west to east. Victory objectives were one at north, another one at the center into a small valley (both behind the hills) and the last one at the south near the road into a small forest. Company A and B will advance supported by tanks against the north objective. Company C will be the reserve on trucks. The goal was overrun north defenders, then turn to south and attack the center and south objectives from their rear. Go: At the edge of the north hill some enemy infantry squads were ready to defend the way. Our snipers did a good job, and they routed fast. Once over the objective defense was weak the major problem were a few ambush done by enemy HMG, but they were neutralized by mortar fire. At the center objective two T-34 were located by our scouts, our large guns were ordered to fire over them, one was destroyed with the first rounds but the second one looked invulnerable. Far to the east an enemy armor reserve were located, it was formed by 3 T-26 and 3 Matilda II. As always when enemy heavy armor makes presence our advance go stop. Our own tanks had to be withdrawal, they couldn’t deal with enemy ones. They were ordered to do an encirclement protected by the hill and advance through the road. Infantry reserve joined them. http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/4...tle7turn22.jpg After some fight and more artillery fire the crew of the surviving T-34 abandoned the tank, also the T-26 were destroyed by our AT-guns and Matilda's crews seemed to be too afraid to kept fighting. Two of them was destroyed meanwhile retreating. We had to cross the valley to reach the third objective, some enemy squads were firing us from the other border of it, artillery, snipers and our LMG took care of them letting the way clear to advance. Both attack vectors (tanks through the road and infantry through the valley) reached the third objective at same time, resistance here was very weak, defenders were overrun and objective secured. Soviet HQ was located at the end of the road and destroyed. Decisive Victory for us !!!!! Post Battle thoughts: A short and easy battle. |
Re: A runamia AAR
Eight Battle ( Meeting engagement - 48 turn - visibility 22 )
Pre-Battle: With the arrival of the winter army logistics become a chaos. Division HQ reclaimed our heavy trucks. Those had been a key part of the battalion allowing archive deception many times and moving troops to reinforce the front in critical moments. Lt. Cpt. Samoila protested and HQ promised alternative vehicles. Once received he went to inspect them, - where are the new trucks corporal ? - corporal answered - They are eating hay, sir - Trucks were a few famished horses. Dam it !!!! After a hard discussion new trucks were promised again, after few days 3 old ford light trucks arrived. Then Samoila requested his car to go at division HQ to protest directly, his assistant answered, - Soldiers who brought the new trucks had orders to bring your car back sir, I though you were informed. - Battle plan: The battle area was a central plain surrounded by hilly terrain. Two roads started at the north-east edge, one in north-west direction, and the other one in south-west direction. All the area was snow, movement was very difficult. The lack of heavy trucks will be a great problem. One victory objective was at the south, on the top of a hill next to our deploy area. The central objective was also at the top of a hill, in front of them there was another hill with a small village on it. The north objective was also on a hill, but next to the north road. We will deploy our force between the central and the south targets, Company A will advance and take the control of the south objective, from this position will cover the north-west to south-est road with AT-guns and HMG. Company C plus tanks will advance and take the control of the small village, from there they will try to engage enemy which will try to capture the central objective, also has to cover the north flank. Company B will be deployed at the plain, advancing through the road and ready to support A or C if needed, light trucks will go with them but they haven't enough carry capacity for more than a section. Horses will be used to keep HMG with their companies. One potter plane was available. http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/5705/battleplan9.jpg Go: Company A advanced and secured the south objective in few turns, then took defensive positions and waited. Company C advanced and took positions into the hill, tanks were with them. One of his sections were move to the north hill to cover this flank. Company B advanced through the plain, one section on trucks advanced and took a reverse slope position at the hill with the road. First contact were done by C company, some T-60 were detected through the north road, also 3 BT-7 advanced over the central objective. Our spotter plane detected a big armor group, about 20 tanks, approaching to the center objective, mainly Valentines III, Matilda II and a few T-28. Heavy artillery was plotted over them. At the south a medium sized infantry group (about 2 companies) tried to reach the objective, our defenders old the line without problems with the support of mortars. After taking the north objective enemy forces there turned over the central objective so we have 2 attack vectors, one form the north and the other one at the center. At-guns proved to be effective against t-60 so the north vector was stopped with heavy losses for Soviets. But they probed to be absolutely useless against heavy tanks, also our tanks were in danger, they were over the hill in firing position against the incoming enemy, they were suppressed by enemy artillery and one of them was immobilized, then they become under enemy tank fire, looking that their guns weren't unable to do any damage to the enemy they were ordered to hide at the hill rear. One was lost during this short fight and the immobilized has to be abandoned due its exposed position. Heavy artillery didn't proved to be very effective this time, some heavy tanks still were able to advance, our defender at the slope done a successful ambush destroying 2 Valentines but they were overhelmed by enemy because their number, they tried to withdraw pooping some smoke but enemy kept firing over them it was a real butcher, now about 10 tanks were reaching the plains. At same time our spotter plane detected a big group of infantry reaching the town hill, Lt. Col Samiola though that if we lost that hill the battle was over so artillery shifted over them. Also he noticed that all remaining enemy armor at the north sector was a few T-60 and T-26 and all the heavy tanks were next to the plains. So he ordered to our tanks to do an encirclement behind the town hill and attack the north vector rear. Heavy tanks wouldn't have LOS over us. http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/5...tleturn209.jpg The situation at the plains were bad, B company were unable to hold the line, C company flank was exposed and there didn't seem to be anything able to stop those tanks. All remaining artillery were ordered to fire a smoke screen, some squads of C company were ordered to hide inside smoke, and survivors of B company were ordered to simulate a break. Samoila looking that enemy was doing a major effort at the center judged that north objective might have a weak defense, so a small recon force was sent there. At the plains our trickery worked, enemy tanks pursuit our B company, C squads were waiting for them, moving from the smoke they close assaulted the tanks and routed the few infantry support that they have. In few minutes the plain was covered with burning scrap metal. Our north recon force checked that victory objective were protected by two AA-trucks, they were destroyed and the objective destroyed. Our tanks with some artillery support also did a great job versus the infantry masses, routing them after a short fight. Finally Soviets still have humor to try an assault at the south objective which was firmly refused. Decisive victory for us !! Post Battle thoughts: A surprising battle, when I studied the map I had very bad feeling, there weren't any forest, river, ... to articulate my plan, objectives were to far and my infantry can advance only 2 hex turn and we don't have heavy trucks anymore. I was thinking to do 3 attacks vector, one per objective but I felt that spreading my force in such way wasn't a good idea. Finally I decided concentrate our efforts in just two objectives and pray for a marginal victory or even a draw, perhaps try to get the third objective if i feel that the enemy was so weak after fighting and there were still turns, what I never though that it gonna be a Decisive victory in just 30 turns. Obviously I had the idea to use a smoke screen from the start, but I didn't have many hopes that it will work, there were to much tanks with heavy armor in a very compact group. My men outperformed my expectations, BRAVO !!! |
Re: A runamia AAR
Ninth Battle ( Assailt - 47 turn - visibility 66 )
Battle plan: The map was snow, There was a road at the south which cross the map from east to west. There was also an iced river which cross the map from north to south at the center. There were only two objectives this time both behind the river, one big at the map center behind two hills with a thin pass between them. Those hill dominate the north approach avenue. The other objective was further south next to the road and covered by a forest plus a hill. The plan was simple, advance with all forces through the north path, The main force will be Company A plus C, A will secure the hills, Company C will cross the river and capture north objective. After that our forces will turn to the south and capture the remaining target. Engineers section will go between both companies to clear the path of mines if needed. Recon force will advance 100 meters in front of the main force. Company B and tanks will be the reserve, they will advance 400 meters behind of the main force ready to join to the assault. http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/540/battleplan9b.jpg Go: As expected the hills in front of the objectives were well defended, recon force engaged the defenders with snipers, also HMG provided support fire from the rear, Companies A and C slowly advanced. One AT-gun was detected hidden in the north forest, engaged and destroyed but a few casualties were taken, when C company were to reach the river they went under gun fire, a pillbox was detected far at the other river bank, artillery was ordered to lay a smoke curtain to blind it. The fight at the hills progressed slowly, enemy resist at their foxholes, the first section of company A armed with SBM was dispatched to assault it, using smoke grenades closed range and were able to start evicting the enemy. The river crossing was slow, a few times the pillbox was able to fire causing big casualties. One infantry section tried to assault it many times with no luck. Finally an engineer section was able to destroy it, when we though that the path was clear a second pillbox opened fire, again it was blind by smoke and was destroyed by engineers a bit later. After that Company C took the control of the north objective destroying the last defenders there. At same time company A was able to fully control the hills, infantry reserve was joined to them, both companies were ready to move towards the south victory objective. Then enemy launched a counter attack to recover the north objective, many infantry units move out of the south forest another group were coming from the road area, they were supported by HMG and snipers. http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/9...tle9turn30.jpg And infantry duel caused many casualties to both sides, our artillery was unlucky and failed many shots. Lt. Col. Samoila decided to launch our tanks against enemy infantry despite we weren't sure if there was AT-guns or tanks at the area. With the support of tanks and the artillery the enemy counter attack was stopped and routed. Finally our tanks and a few infantry squads advanced through the road and took the control of the objective without more opposition. Decisive victory for us !! Post Battle thoughts: Two curiosities about this battle, it is the first one were enemy was full infantry, no armor of any type, also there wasn't a mine belt, or barbed wire, etc despite it were an assault. I had many infantry casualties due the pillboxes and the enemy counterattack which I can't block as fast as desirable. |
Re: A runamia AAR
Tenth battle ( Stop enemy Counterattack ( SB delay) - 45 turn - visibility 66 )
Pre-battle: This time there wasn't reinforcements, so we must fight which what we had. One of the infantry companies was badly damage, it was at 40% more or less. The other two companies had only some casualties. The recon force was also badly damage, just one team was at 100%, all others were missing or understrength. At least we had our 3 snipers. We had all our AT-guns but some of them had some crew missing. Tanks were at 100%, they had few usage in the previous battle. Artillery was also at 100%. After a general review we can say that battalion was at 70%, being infantry the weaker part, but we must keep in mind that they plus artillery were the core of the fighting force because all other weapons were really obsolete and near useless versus latest enemy armor. Battle plan: Map was snow, the north area was clear dominated by two small hills, the objective farther north was on the top of one, the center objective was next to the hills in front of a tiny line of trees. At the south there was a road in east-west direction, near the west border it crosses a forest, the victory objective was set on a small hill next to the road, all the area was forest. Another road cross the map diagonally from north-west to south-east. Finally the north-east map edge was crossed by an iced river. The north area will be covered by AT-guns, because its poor performance they were ordered to hold the fire until the enemy was at 400m. Also HMG will provide fire cover vs infantry. Finally company C will be deployed in a reverse slope position at the hills, a one section will be deployed into the line of trees. Company B will take positions into the forest ready to ambush forces which try to use the road, also it will deploy a section at the border of the forest objective. Company A was to damage to fight so it was deployed at the rear and will be engaged only if the situation become critical. Engineers will be divided into two groups ready to support the weakest area. Tanks deployed at the north will be the reserve. http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/2...ttleplan10.jpg Go: The enemy was detected early on, at the north a medium sized armor group fast advance directly to us, the worst was the confirmation that many T-34 tanks were part of the group. AA guns were used in AT role, the idea was pin the tanks and led time to heavy artillery to plot the position and fire. At the south road some enemy tanks were detected also, infantry took positions into the forest at the road border to ambush them. Through the center area huge infantry groups were detected, many were sky troops with good mobility, 75 mm artillery and mortars were plotted over them. The enemy north group returned fire to our AA guns, surprising it was to accurate, it destroyed our guns or forced crew to abandon them, btw artillery was able to immobilize one T-34. At the south road more and more enemy vehicles were coming, our squads were lucky destroying few of them but when they wanted to break the contact and withdraw to a new position they couldn't because they were under fire all the time. Even worst T-34 were seen into this group also. Heavy artillery was called, rounds started to fall over them but nothing seems to be able to stop them, our men were decisive engaged, pinned and overwhelm. The next few minutes were the worst of the battalion history, company B just ceased to exist. At the north, after losing the AA guns, defenders hold the fire and led enemy to reach the objective, then opened fire. After some shots our AT-guns were able to knock the T-34, a total of 6 were destroyed. At least the north flank seemed secure. Things always can go worse, after the annihilation of the C company the enemy armor force turned to the north against the objective, at same time enemy infantry was reaching the forest border and for our desperation they were supported by M3 Lee tanks. Engineers squads were sent to reinforce the south flank, also tank reserve were committed, even the company A which was half depleted from the previous battle was sent to reinforce the objective. The shock between attackers armor and our defenders were brutal. Our men close assault the tanks again and again, enemy artillery started to fire a rain of fire despite hitting their own forces, we also fired our largest guns over them with also some friendly casualties, soviets had heavy losses but their numbers were so huge that they pushed our infantry out of the forest. Our tanks had token positions at the forest border, there were many smoke from grenades, fire, explosions, etc. When an enemy tank showed their nose out of the forest our tanks fired all at same time, to destroy a single T-34 were needed 16 hitting shots from us, Two of our tanks were immobilized because artillery fire, one of them has to be abandoned since it was so exposed. A third one had their main gun damage, also crews had some casualties. It looked like they were to break our lines definitively. At the north and center objective enemy infantry started to arrive, both objective were defended by a single infantry company. Enemy size might be a battalion. Mortars and a two 75mm guns shift his fire over the new problem. Snipers did a good job, also HMG provided a good fire power. Our men were able to delay the enemy, two AT-guns were send to the south to try to help stopping the enemy. It looked like enemy was losing their force at the south objective, many tanks were now smoking trash, they still had a huge number of infantry but they got suppressed by our artillery. After the huge losses enemy moral seemed to fall, some units begin to route. We were able to reorganize something similar to a defensive line with the incoming engineers and a few infantry squads from the A company, but all of them had several casualties and got suppressed easily even by forest fire. At the north and center objective our men advanced recovering the victory hexes which was under enemy control, there were still many enemy infantry squads trying to advance, our remaining tanks which were still operative were sent to help dealing with enemy infantry, one of them was lost due a enemy long range shot, we were forced to take cover. Fortunately crew survived with only one casualty. There was still more surprises ready to do his appearance, some slow T-28 tanks were reaching the front line now, at the north and center they were destroyed by AT-teams and infantry because AT-guns were suppressed or destroyed by enemy artillery. At the south more T-28 were detected but looking the panorama they retreated without attacking. A last try was done by soviets, a small group of 6 T-60 with infantry support tried to assault the central objective. But we had enough time to rally a pair AT-guns so they were destroyed with the help of our infantry and AT-teams. Marginal victory for us !! Detail of the south objective at the end of the fight. http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/1...stantnea11.png Post Battle thoughts: We win, but which has been the price ? Obviously my plan was flawed, in previous battles I had really bad experiences when forced to fight in open field. When I took a look of the map I was really worried about the north area, it was a big zone cleared of any obstacle, protection, etc. I though that I will hard time to defend it. That's why almost all AT-gun were there. Also previously I had really good results using infantry in forest using close combat to destroy tanks, obviously I overestimated the possibilities of B company. Even when it had to be clear that the south flank were in danger I still was fearing my north flank and those T-34 approaching. When I realized that the main attack were at the south and that there were so few troops to deal with it, was too late. The disaster only could be avoided with the sacrifice of invaluable resources. Only 18 men of about 140 of the company B are alive, Company A and C also have had big losses, many squads are reduced to 3-4 men, all AA guns are lost, most of the AT-guns are lost, just 2 snipers are left from the recon company. Tanks are the only group which survived with few losses but it is because the very conservative use which we have done because they huge limitations, I want to remember that they are Pz.Kpfw. 35(t) light tanks. I feel like all the work to raise the experience, train our men, etc has been lost in a single battle. Yeah !! we have won but we have paid a big price for our victory, perhaps too big. |
Re: A runamia AAR
Battalion Summary After 10 battles.
We have reached February of 1942. The campaign numbers are: - 7 Decisive Victories - 3 Marginal Victories The battalion structure is like - 1 x HQ - 1 x Artillery Company - 1 x Off-board gun battery ( 3 x 150mm tubes )- 1 x Light tank weakened company - 6 x R2 light tanks (aka Pz.Kpfw. 35(t)) - 2 x AT-gun platoons - 4 x 47mm At-gun- 1 x Recon Company - 2 x Motorbikes- 3 x infantry companies - 1 x HQ- 1 x Engineers platoon - 4 x engineers squad- 1 x AA guns platoon - 4 x 20mm gun.- 1 x support - 3 x Ford light trucks This is the combat troop experience: - Green squads: 48 - Veteran squads: 43 - Elite squads: 2 (both are Off-board guns.) If we analyze only the infantry companies experience we can see: - Company A: 9 of 11 infantry squad, 1 of 2 HMG and 0 of 2 At-teams are veteran. - Company B: 4 of 11 infantry squad, 0 of 2 HMG and 0 of 2 At-teams are veteran. - Company C: 10 of 11 infantry squad, 1 of 2 HMG and 0 of 2 At-teams are veteran. The worst is that all company HQ are green with really penalize the rally changes, also we don't have any elite unit still. Kill Numbers: The top one is an 150mm Off-board gun with 29 kills. The second one is another 150mm of board gun with with 28 kills. The third one is an R2 (aka Pz.Kpfw. 35(t)) with 21 kills. The top infantry unit is the I2 squad with 14 kills. The best of the At-guns has 10 kills. |
Re: A runamia AAR
I've enjoyed reading your AARs in this campaign, someday I'd like to take the time to go through them a bit more leisurely :) Really, considering the very difficult matchup you've chosen, I think you've done quite well.
There's only two suggestions I have: first, you can get a bit extra xp for your 0 units each battle if you use them to fire long range suppression fire whenever possible - even if its not needed or misses; second, try thinking of your tanks not as tanks but as slow heavy armored cars and use them a bit more aggressively in that role (early spoiling attack/scouting, general long range fire support, late game mopup). If you use your tanks in a more active role though you'd need to keep an infantry company back as reserve, maybe use some squads from that reserve company as riders on the tanks. Just make sure they have plenty of smoke so they can hide themselves and the tank from danger. I'll admit its a bit of an odd way to use tanks but, in '42 a 35(t) really isn't a tank! Anyhow, keep up the good work :) Brian |
Re: A runamia AAR
Quote:
My main problem with 0 units is that I use it in front line like another squad. I had bad luck and all 3 were destroyed recently, perhaps I should be more cautious. Your suggestion to use them mainly in long range support fire seems good for their health. About "tanks" ... I doubt between removing it or keep them with me. Romanian R2 are really expensive for what their offer, in a delay or defense missions it is a lot of extra points for the AI, also it is not historically correct having them in a infantry battalion. If I keep them is to have crews trained by the time Germans start giving them more advance tanks, but isn't going to happen until 43. But I agree, a more aggressive use may be done to worth their price. Roger. |
Re: A runamia AAR
11st Battle ( Advance - 49 turn - visibility 37 )
Battle plan: The area was snow, the Russian zone was mostly forest with a big clear zone at the rear. The approach avenue was a clear area dominated by a hill, at the south there was a road going from west to east. The south objective was inside a forest near the road, the central one was in a clear behind the forest over a small hill. The last one was at the north also inside a forest. The plan was advance through the central area with the three infantry companies preceded by our recon force, A and B at the front and C 200 meters behind. They had to use the hill to cover their advance as much as possible. As usual the idea was overwhelm the defenders concentrating all our force at one point. One platoon of the C company on light trucks plus two motorbikes had to infiltrate through the south border, their target was seek and destroy the enemy artillery. Tanks was the reserve. Two spotters planes were available. http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/3...ttleplan11.jpg Go: Our advance was preceded by a recon flight of our planes, at the center three Matildas II were located supported by some infantry squads. Immediately most of our artillery was plotted over them. Meanwhile our infantry slowly advanced through the snow, HMG were deployed at our rear and start firing over the enemy infantry, also our snipers were doing their job quite well. Surprisingly enemy infantry didn't fly as soon as they had a few casualties like in the previous battles. Later on we discovered that they were part of a Guards division. After few rounds one Matilda II was destroyed, the other two were immobilized, a few meters at the north one T-34 was also detected, artillery fire was shifted over him. One scout patrol and one sniper were ordered to check the presence of enemy at the road. They found a few infantry units, mortars were ordered to take care of them. Also the infiltration team advanced undetected, doing a big encirclement reached the enemy rear. Motorbikes went ahead trying to find the enemy artillery but they came under HMG fire. It seemed impossible to keep advancing so light trucks were diverted to a group of houses next to the road and unloaded the infantry platoon. New orders were sent to the them, first clear the road to bring reinforcement at the enemy rear faster, second advance towards the south objective. At the center infantry was reaching the Matildas, a smoke curtain was laid to allow infantry close distance and assault the tanks, after engaging and routing the remaining enemy infantry next to the tanks those were destroyed. Our infiltration team successfully cleared the road and, after a short fight, controlled the south target. Light trucks were sent to move more troops through the road, also our tanks were ordered to advance through it and support the infiltration team, they easily destroyed the HMG which stopped our infiltration. With this reinforcements our infiltration team grow to a small task force, they advanced towards the central victory objective. A small counterattack leaded by a few T-60 light tanks was launched by the enemy. Our own armor take care of them without losses. At the central area two more T-34 were detected, one was abandoned after being it by artillery fire, the other one was close assaulted by infantry and destroyed. Now all our force was advancing, but it was to slow due the snow terrain, any vehicle was used to speed up our movement, even AT-gun tractors were used to transport infantry to the front line. Finally our troops reached the central victory objective, enemy had placed two At-guns covering the area which wasn't detected. We lost two tanks and another one was badly damage, crews survived. Our artillery was fired over the enemy guns destroying one and routing the crew of the other. At same time the enemy HQ was found and destroyed by our infantry. http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/7...le11tunr30.jpg In a final effort our men reached the third objective, just a few infantry squads were defending it, they were overwhelm and the objective captured. Decisive victory for us !! Post Battle thoughts: The main difficulty of the battle was the terrain, being mostly an infantry force with few carriers snow heavily penalized our maneuver capacity, most of time our men were just moving forward closing the distance with the enemy. My infiltration platoon has failed his main mission which was destroy the enemy artillery, a few HMG forced to abort the original plan. An armored car could be ideal to support them but we don't have any. I am thinking in using my light tanks in this role but due their relative big size doesn't seem like a good infiltrator. In any case the platoon mission was changed on the way archiving a great success with the new orders. |
Re: A runamia AAR
12st Battle ( Defend - 47 turn - visibility 62 )
Battle plan: All the area was snow, the north zone was dominated by a medium sized forest crossed by a road from east to west. The central area was dominated by a hill. The south area was mostly iced plains. There were one objective behind the north forest, another one behind the central hill, and the last one at the plains. We used the support points to buy mines and 3 bunkers. Once planing the defense it become obvious that our forces weren't strong enough to protect the 3 objectives at the same time, so Lt. Cpt Samoila decided to defend the north and the center objective letting the south one undefended. The south flank was to be defended by a fort line, also a mine belt had to surround all the defended area. Company A was deployed at the north forest. Company B supported by engineers was deployed at the slope of the central hill. Both were supported by AT-guns. Company C was deployed at the rear ready to support A or B if needed. Tanks were ready to be launched against the expected infantry horde. A small mobile group done with scouts and motorbikes were ready to retake the third objective if the battle was positive for us. http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/6...ttleplan12.jpg Go: After few minutes of battle enemy armor was located at the central area, they had T-34, T-26 and T-60, artillery was called to suppress them. At the same time a few tanks were detected and destroyed at the north road. We let the enemy reach our lines before open fire. Our mine belt damage or destroyed a few enemy tanks and our artillery immobilized some more. A few were able to reach the infantry but they were close assaulted and destroyed. After the fiasco of their armor the Soviets launched their infantry. At the forest our men kept the line without many problems, enemy was ambushed continually taking big casualties every time. At the north road many infantry was approaching, Lt. Cpt. Samoila after checking there weren't enemy armor at that the area sent our tank force which destroyed the enemy. But suddenly a hidden tank opened fire destroying one of our tanks (crew didn't survived) and immobilizing another one. At the center enemy artillery was firing over our positions. Our men were suppressed when the horde reached them, a few squads routed. it looked like they were to break the line. C company were sent to set a second defensive line at the company B rear. At the south plains a small force of 3 t-28 supported by a few infantry squads were to capture the objective at the plains. Our forts tried to destroy them but our guns weren't able to knock them even at short distance. At the forest huge numbers of enemy infantry kept reaching our lines. Some of our squads routed, one of them was surrounded and destroyed. But, in general, we were able to fight meanwhile withdrawal, finally we could stop them and set a new defensive line. Enemy artillery was doing some damage. Two At-guns were lost, our immobilized tank was blasted and the crew lost, also some squads had casualties. http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/3...le12turn30.jpg When the center line was to be overwhelm the enemy attack started to lose its impetus. We were able to reorganize and hold the line. Looking that enemy assault was losing its energy we dispatched our small mobile force to recon the south objective. One of the T-28 were immobilized by a mine the other two were heading to the north, a few infantry squads were engaged with our HMG and artillery were plotted at the area. Due the incapacity to destroy the T-28 which was immobilized next to the objective a smoke curtain was laid to blind it. After that our motorbikes recaptured the objective. More and more infantry reached our line at the forest. They lost many men with few casualties for us. After a while Soviets fully retread. Decisive victory for us !! Post Battle thoughts: There was just one moment in all the battle which locked really bad, it was when the central defense was near to be overwhelm but enemy lacked of the necessary reserve to exploit the moment. The worst is the lost of 2 tanks with their high skilled crew. Every battle I feel less comfortable with these light tanks, they are too expensive for romanians and its frustrating having to hide them all the time or lost them at the first enemy shot. |
Re: A runamia AAR
nice AARs keep on writing them.
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Re: A runamia AAR
I don't have a lot of time to play so I advance slowly, but I am decided to keep playing the campaign until Romania changed of side at 1944.
I am happy to know you are enjoying the AAR, thanks for reading. |
Re: A runamia AAR
13st Battle ( Assault - 41 turn - visibility 90 )
Pre-battle Tanks were gone from the battalion, from there it was a pure infantry force with their support weapons. Battle Plan: Finally Spring arrived, the ground was green again. The combat area was mostly plain and with a center forest zone. There was a road and a railway from north to south at the map center, another road from east to west was at the southern region. One objective was next to this road behind a forest. The center objective was surrounded by trees and the farther north objective was in a clear plain. Two small hills were in front of the target area. The obvious approach avenue was the south road, for this reason the battalion avoided using it. Cpt Samoila deployed his forces at the north, companies A and B in the front, C as reserves. The engineers platoon between A and B ready to clear the path if necessary. Two AT-guns per company plus two more as reserve. As always the recon company were going to go slightly ahead. http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/7490/instantnea17.png Go: The head of our forces did contact after a few minutes of advance, there were some infantry squads dig in at the north plains supported by infantry guns and AAMG, also in front of the of the forest three pillboxes were located. Artillery was called to suppress the machine guns and to lay a smoke curtain in front of the pillboxes. Snipers and HMG were move on the top of the dominating hill to have good firing positions. Company A started to advance versus the dig in defenders but they were progressing slowly, a mine belt was detected and engineers needed to open a few paths through it while under fire, Company B moved against the pillboxes supported by two engineers platoons. C was still reserved, but a small recon forces was send to check the defenses at the southern objectives. More defenders were located near the slope of the hill blocking the path to the pillboxes, a fierce fight started to be able to reach those pillboxes ASAP. After few minutes most of the defenders were routed. Meanwhile more smoke were laid. http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/3...stantnea18.png Checking that companies A and B didn't need reinforcements to progress, the Cpt Samoila decided to use the reserve force to engage the third objective. Due the apparent lack of enemy armor the AT guns were sent to support the attack being used with HE heads. The road defenders were engaged from long distance with HMG and the AT-guns, they were suppressed by the fire allowing regular infantry bypass the defenders and kept progressing against the objective. At the center and north objectives our troops kept advancing, some enemy opened long range fire. Artillery was called to suppress them. Engineers successfully assaulted the pillboxes, and the center defender were overwhelm, also at the north defenders routed or retreated, allowing an easy capture of the objectives. AT-gun tractors were used to transport troops speeding their advance to the southern target. Defense were set towards the road so they were attacked by their rear and destroyed without problems. Decisive victory for us !! Post Battle thoughts: An easy battle, with very few loses. This is my first battle were both sides are using only infantry, really fun. I didn't miss a lot my small tank force, Also the spring arrival made the advance easier. P.S. Over a year without updating the AAR, really sorry but my free time has been really short. I hope I am going to be able to update it regularity from now. |
Re: A runamia AAR
14st Battle ( Advance - 34 turn - visibility 24 )
Battle Plan: The area was slightly forested with several clear areas. The north-west corner was crossed by a river. There was a road from west to east, a bridge crossed the river. This road might be the main approx avenue for the enemy. There were 3 objectives, the forward north objective (Alpha)was next to a river in a clear area with some isolated trees lines. In front of it there was a small hill which could provide some cover. The central objective (Beta) was inside a forest. The south objective (Gamma) was on the top of small hill in a clear area. Companies A and B were to advance against Alpha and Beta respectively. B was supported by engineers as antitank infantry which should be effective in a closed forest area like Beta. Anti tank guns were deployed at the north area (mainly clear) but ordered to shoot only at short distance. Company C plus an AT-gun section were deployed at the rear ready to support A or B. Two platoons of our recon force were ordered to set two observation outpost in front of Gamma to check enemy activity. When Alpha and Beta were under our control our forces had to turn their attack vector against Gamma. Artillery were ordered to blow the bridges over the river ASAP. We had the support of Romanian Air Force this time, 8 Stukas were at our service. http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/210/battle13h.png Go: As soon as battle started our artillery destroyed one of the bridges over the river. Our companies advanced over their objectives. Company A at north soon did contact with the spearhead of the enemy force, mainly BA-6, BA-10 and T-60. As we supposed they were using the road to fast advance, our artillery fired over them destroying a few, suppressing others and forcing the mounted squads to unload. Engineers fast advanced on trucks and took defensive position inside the forest around Beta objective, company B advanced on foot to support engineers. Our recon force set their observation outposts as ordered and waited. The light forces of the enemy were followed by a large armor formation, 2 Kv1 plus several T-26 supported by T-60 light tanks and some infantry. Company A plus our AT-guns engaged this force, infantry took positions over the hill in front of Alpha, a section advanced to the trees line. At-guns were deployed at the plain using the holes of the trees line to opportunistic shot. At Beta engineers faced also a armored force but this time supported by a large number of infantry. Three Kv1 were detected. Several ambushes were done, destroying a good number of enemy tanks. Company B finally reached the engineers and tried to cover their flanks, but enemy numbers were really huge. At Gamma our outposts observed three T-34 tanks capturing the objective, after that they turned against Beta. Cpt. Samoila judged that if this force were able to join to the attack the defenders of Beta were to be overwhelm. The At-guns reserve were moved to intercept the T-34 platoon. Also company C were ordered to advance to support B at Beta. Light trucks were used to speed up their movement transporting one section at time. Enemy captured objective Alpha, many of our AT-guns were destroyed or abandoned due the enemy artillery fire. Stukas were ordered to attack the enemy armor but due the bad coordination missed their targets. With the Alpha objective under their control the enemy armor proceed against Beta, it was a big fail. They exposed their lateral to our remaining AT-guns (just two) with a fatal result, many T-26 and T-60 were killed. The main concern were the Kv1 that until that moment remained at the rear. The fight at the Beta forest was difficult but not critical, one engineer platoon were suppressed, surrounded and destroyed. They were experienced men so it was a big loss for our battalion, another infantry platoon had the same luck. But in general our infantry was able to keep the ground, close assaulting tanks and ambushing infantry. The T-34 platoon was intercepted by our AT-gun which led them approach and then fire at really short range, they were destroyed with almost no loses. Viewing that Gamma was undefended and that the enemy was concentrated at Beta our recon force advanced and captured it without any fight. Also company A was ordered to advance against Alpha, the small enemy force led to protect it was overwhelm and the objective captured. Finally the remaining Kv1s arrived at the Beta forest, infantry was able to destroy them close assaulting. A last effort was done by the enemy at the south flank of Beta, a platoon of T-26 with some T-60 and infantry support tried to advance over the objective. After an initial success were refused. At this point the enemy moral collapsed and the remaining troops flied (turn 24). The next minutes were a blood bath our force was launched in an avenger pursuit were many enemy units were destroyed. Decisive victory for us !! Post Battle thoughts: As always when enemy heavy armor appears all the efforts must be concentrated to destroy it, dam hard considering Romanian AT capacity, everything has to be abandoned until it is neutralized. Fortunately the initial plan was flexible enough to adapt to the new changes and finally I had one of the biggest victories of my battalion. I did a bad use of my Air force, I tried to destroy the tanks using them but due the attack delay they never were at the attack hex, next time I will use them to attack enemy rear which have more static units. |
Re: A runamia AAR
15st Battle ( Defend - 55 turn - visibility 33 )
Battle Plan: We were at a hilly area with some forest, some points over 90 high. We were ordered to defend a small valley surrounded by hills with narrow passages between them at north and a forest at south. There was a road from east to west at the top of the map. There was just two objectives to protect, one next to the a north hill, and the other one at the south forest. We had some time to prepare, so we laid a minefield belt protecting our front line and flanks, also some trenches were prepared at the north mountain in a reverse sloop position and at the front line. South flank was protected by the big forest. Company A was deployed at the north, some sections at the hill trenches and the others at the north-east trenches. One AT battery was supporting them. The front line was covered by the company B, also supported by one AT battery. Finally an understrength company C plus engineers were deployed inside the forest. Two AT-guns batteries were the reserve, plus one section of C company. http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/3593/battle14a.png Go: After few turns of battle it seemed like nothing had happened, just a small artillery fire exchange. Some mines explosions were listened at the road, north hill defenders took positions but no enemy was saw. Suddenly our rear security element (mainly AAA guns, snipers and a few scouts) detected a section of T-34 tanks flanking our main force. At same time the south defenders also reported that they had been flanked and now the enemy was at their rear, enemy had been able to capture some victory hexes even without fight. Alarm voices were listened, a section of company A was ordered to hide into a small trees area and wait for the T-34, but there was a big concern, what could happen if the enemy tanks decided to attack our unprotected artillery ? At the south forest after the initial surprise company C launched a small offensive which could recapture the objective and neutralize the enemy, fortunately there were just a few T-28 plus some desant teams. Around all the mine belt area explosions were listened, our troops reported several smoke columns appearing. The north T34 launched an assault versus the objective, our company A section was able to ambush them at the treeline successfully. But more tanks reached our rear, T-28 plus more T34. One artillery gun was lost. At the north-east trench a big number of enemy troops supported by tanks tried to breach our defenses, our artillery was plotted over them. Also some Kv1 were located heading the north hill, defenders were able to hold the line, but at their east flank our defenses fallen, a second line was set at small treeline. A new attack was launched at our rear with the infiltrated tanks, an AT-gun was ordered to move to ambush them, meanwhile the AAA guns were going to try to win some time. The plan was successful but we lost the AAA crews. After the defeat of the enemy flanking movement the battle turned in a mass assault against our defensive positions, we were able to old the line with the support of our artillery. At turn 44 the enemy withdraw. Decisive victory for us !! Post Battle thoughts: The battle started promising, soon I realized that my plan was flawed. I didn't deploy observation outpost at my flanks so I have been surprised by the intelligent AI pincer movement. But the AI wasn't intelligent enough to exploit its success, so after failing the battle turned in a boring mass assault vs my prepared positions with big losses of the IA. |
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