|
Section Leaders:
Fionn Kelly & Madmatt
The
Sunken Lane
Click Here for
Print Friendly
.DOC Version!
German Commander - Fionn
Kelly
NOTE: SPOILER INFORMATION. This After Action
Report contains detailed information regarding units and terrain
disposition to a scenario that may be included in the release version
of Combat Mission. If you wish to play this game Blind or partake in a
Double Blind match then READ NO FURTHER!!!!
Graphics Note:
While the events in this AAR were played on a very recent Beta Build of
Combat Mission. The graphics, at that time, were not finalized. For
Final Graphics please view the POTD Feature which runs daily here and
various features on the CMHQ-Annex site.
Turn
15:
Thought
Processes:
1.
Wittenberg’s
platoon has caused enough casualties for now… I’m going to withdraw
him about 10 metres deeper into the woods so as to prevent the tank
from bringing direct fire to bear and I’ll keep him in position until
my 120mm mortars hit the current Allied positions. I estimate that my
mortar shells will begin landing in the second half of this turn so
I’ll probably try to pull Wittenberg out at the beginning of the next
turn.
2.
Bertram
stays where he is until I know where the 2nd Allied
reinforcing company is being committed.
3.
Duve
and Sehmel continue under their current orders. One is running to the
defense of my left flank while the other is waiting for the Allied
attack on my right flank.
4.
Bil seems to be attacking straight along my extreme left flank so I’m
going to begin shifting machinegun teams and mortars
leftwards to provide more cover of the wheat field on my extreme left.
Orders
Phase:
Orders
conform to the above thinking.
Action
Phase:
As
Wittenberg’s men retreat to get away from the tank’s fire they lose
half a squad to enemy fire and one squad panics and fails to follow
orders or return fire. This is disastrous since it means that next turn
I either pull back with one and a half squads and leave the third squad
to be annihilated OR I stay where I am and try to rescue the third
squad at the risk of the entire platoon. On one positive note I will
note that the artillery barrage has arrived and that it seems to be
doing quite a bit of damage. One shell landed directly onto a
concentration of several squads and definitely caused casualties and
some of those squads to take cover and stop firing on me. I hope that
the artillery strike has done a great deal of damage since I have a
feeling that Wittenberg’s force is going to be badly mauled.
A British half-squad pushes forward across
the wheat field to the little ridge nearest the bocage.
Bil is obviously using this half-squad as recon to determine how
well-defended the bocage is in this sector. My HMG42s haven’t fired
at the scouting half-squad but I think I’ll have them fire next turn.
Anything I can do to scare him into slowing down will buy me invaluable
time to re-deploy. I hope that this half-squad is killed so quickly
that he gains little information as to how many of my units are firing
at it. The less info he gets the more hesitant and slow his attack will
be. If his company tries to attack the HMG42s across the wheat field
there will be a slaughter such as hasn’t been seen since the Somme. A
couple of HMG42s in mutually supporting positions emplaced so as to
prevent any enemies from attacking from multiple directions can cut
huge swathes in any attacker’s ranks.
Well,
it looks like Bil hasn’t abandoned his attack on my right flank after
all. Three tanks are proceeding in parade-ground formation for my
extreme right flank. Behind them I can see a gaggle of infantry and HQ
units. It looks like my ambushing half-squad a few minutes ago
convinced him that he wasn’t going to be able to push through the
middle of my position and so he has decided to attack elsewhere. This
has also had the effect of stretching my line even further. I don’t
think that 21 infantry can hold off two tanks and at least their own
number of British infantry PLUS supporting MMGs and mortars.
It’s
actually quite discouraging. Wherever I stand and fight I’m being
swamped by overwhelming numbers of British troops. My men are killing
or wounding between one and a half to two British troops for every
casualty suffered but still the British are able to throw fresh forces
in to overwhelm all my positions. Even those locations where the
British infantry force is battered into numerical equality benefit from
tank and MMG support. It is a sobering thought that on my extreme right
flank I dispose 1 Platoon HQ, 2 squads at good strength and one
panicked squad ( from a different platoon). Facing this we have an
equal number of infantry, 3 tanks and 3 to 4 MMGs. Bil has more tanks
heading for me than I have infantry squads or Panzerfausts. Even if I
kill all his infantry and destroy a tank with every Panzerfaust I still
have in action on this flank I physically don’t have enough
Panzerfausts to stop him.
If
he attacks I’ll do my best and try to kill his infantry and then, I
suppose, I’ll have to just try to run away from his tanks and hope
they don’t just hunt my men down and kill them. It’s not an
enviable position.
|
