Game 2
1931 China Mountains
Meeting Engagement
38 turns - see later
Japan vs AI Chinese Nationalists
Japanese Forces:
Infantry Coy
Tank platoon
All mule-born:
Weapons Platoon - Trying again with the trench guns
70mm mortar platoon - 2 tubes
70mm inf gun platoon - 2 guns
HMG section - 2 guns
AOP on horseback
4 Motorcyclists
2 ammo wagons
Support:
Spotter plane
3 Aichi with 250 kg bombs
Terrain:
Mud, trees, mud and bush, and some more mud, rising out of the mud is a large moutain covered with - mud. Fortunately, the top is relatively mud free. The Chinese side has less mud but is fairly heavily treed. There are two large clearings one south of the centre line and one on the north west side of the mountain.
Three VH clusters - two at the base of the Chinese side of the mountain, one higher up near the north board edge. A map recce showed a relatively clear path (as in only 2 mud slopes to pass over) path in the north leading to the northern VH cluster.
The Plan:
Send the Motorcycles up the flanks. The northern pair is to clear the way for the tank platoon. Tank platoon to advance along the northern route and be ready to take the northern VHs. Southern pair to wreak havok in the enemy rear as required.
HQ, support platoon and 70mm guns to move to the mountain top and set up a fire support base covering the southern clearing and providing fire support into the woods below. One, two and three platoons are to move into the rough on the north side of the mountain and cover the northern clearing.
The Attack:
At the starters gun, the company began its slow slog uphill through the mud. The motorcycles ripped up the flanks and the tank platoon carefully picked its way through the north edge muck. The Aichi D3 took a spin around the mountain top and composed a haiku on the loneliness of the muddy mountain top.
About 10 turns in, the northern motorcycles have by-passed the northern VH cluster and are moving deep into the enemies rear area. The southern motorcycle pair have come under fire from a concealed AAMG. The infantry are still slogging up the hill and the tankers are clearing the last of the mud from their running gear.
Then things get interesting. The FO is still math impaired so artillery plotting is slow at best - another D3 flight over the mountain finally arrives and spots the Chinese hordes about to hit the VHs at the base of the mountain. The FO decides they would be a good target for some birds eggs so plots the 3 bomb armed Aichi to strike. Unfortunately, my infantry is about a turn too late to get into ideal firing position but dig into the rough and prepare to receive charges. A few turns back, the ammo carts got bogged so the 70mm mortars decided to set up shop next to them. The rest of the fire support group is also a bit late but all dismount and begin to push forward into position on foot. I decide the 70mm infantry guns would be better deployed indirect so set them up back of the crest line. The southern motorcycles are holding out of sight of the AAMG - it's just out of 70mm mortar range of course. The northern motorcycle boys are cautiously moving into the enemies rear are and preparing to sweep south. Having a clear run, the tanks head off to threaten the northern VH cluster and run smack into a 75mm barrage. One tank is immobilized right behind a clump of bushes - 50 metres further north and it would have had line of fire over the central north edge of the map.
As it stands: The remainder of the tank platoon is heading toward the Northern VHs, The infantry company is settled into adequate if not ideal postions and will receive the Chinese onslaught from static positions. The support platoon is slowly consolidating the fire base on the mountain top and the Imperial eagles are preparing to drop some hurt on the enemy below. On MC group is keeping an eye on an MG while the other prepares to wreak havoc on any onboard arty that shows up.
At this point, the game goes into its usual wash-rinse-repeat cycle. The Chinese attack en masse. The bombers go in pasting the densely packed enemy and the arty opens up as well. My Gunjin open up and the Chinese get pinned/retreat/routed. The Chinese flee and another wave arrives. In the rear, my motorcycles chew up the Chinese artillery completely removing them from the map. Sadly they run afoul of another AAMG group and over several turns are destroyed as they retreat under fire.
The Chinese wave attacks go on without apparent end. While the match up says I'm fighting Nationalist Chinese - I suspect I'm up against Mao himself! Lowly Militia squads are fighting like Stormtroopers! I'm doing a lot of damage to the Chinese but attrition starts to grind down my boys. I send in the tanks to grab the northern VHs to relieve some of the pressure - risky un-escorted but I have to get a break to re-group my infantry. After a turn or two, the infantry hordes turn on my tanks who blissfully send round after round of 57mm HE into their ranks. Several crunchies get close enough to assault but all but one group gets tank terror and runs off. The surving group manages to stuff a grenade into one of the main guns and I'm now reduced to one Gun armed tank - the other only having MGs to play with. In the south, a group of militia shows up to harass my observing Motorcycles - killing one and driving off the other. The fire base is working hard but the infernal AAMG just won't die. That is untill one of my beloved Type 11 pop-guns works it over in partnership with an HMG - just like it was designed to do.
Despite the efforts of the armour, the waves keep coming. So much so, that by turn 30 I decide to cut my losses and pull back. I switch the arty to smoke for a round and pull back. and so it goes Turn 31, 32, 33 ... 35, 36, 38, 40, 42 - Hey wait a second - the Chinese supermen have all the VHs yet we're 4 turns over the game end ... I check the clock - It's not 38 turns - it's 58 turns! The withdrawal continues. My 70mm mortars keep up a hail of fire just barely keeping the enemy at bay. The tanks pull back fighting - even the immobilized Type 89 tags a couple of infitrators. My 70mm howitzers shoot their lands out and pull back only to get flanked and destroyed by an infiltrating militia squad. Two platoon on the north edge gets ground into mochi paste while the HQ group, the support platoon and the other two infantry platoons play at being Spartans and form an ever-shrinking defensive perimeter under a hail of Chinese fire. The HMGs and 37mm popguns are reduced to rifle fire only and my knee mortar groups have long since shot off their basic load. Finally night falls with turn 58 and my much battered troops withdraw under the cover of darkness.
I end up with a marginal defeat losing about a third of my troops while destroying about half of the enemy.
Lessons Learned:
- Even low grade enemy troops can suprise you and put up a superb effort.
- As Stalin said: Quantity has a quality of its own.
- While the firebase worked well, once I knew I was too late to fully implement my infantry plan I should have set up better supported fire positions behind the ridge line rather than pushing onto the forward slope.
Next game - back onto the plains.