Kampfgruppe Backe:
Force Structure:
SPW 251/1 Obg Hemper 2
SPW 251/1 Obg Holschneider 2
SPW 251/1 Obg Hermanns 1-1 (scouting ahead)
SPW 251/1 Obg Osterhaus 2 (scouting ahead
A1 Hsf Backe 6
H0 Osf Nolting 4
Mg42 Rot Wolff 6
FO Osf Schulist 1-1
Green Volksgrenadier Platoon.
D0 Lt Janz 1-3
D1 Unt Schumacher 3-5
D2 Unt Beck 7-1
D3 Unt Blank 5-3
Vet PanzerGrenadier Platoon
E0 Osf Frich 4
E1 Unt Sheaffer 7-1
E2 Unt Altmann 7-1
E3 Unt Frantz 7-1
Vet PanzerGrenadier Platoon
G0 Osf Kanther 4
G1 Unt Geiser 2-6 (scouting ahead)
G2 Unt Stein 8 (Mounted on Obg Osterhaus. SPW 251/1)
As Obersturmfuhrer Frich's veteran Panzergrenadiers and Leutnant Janz's green volksgrenadiers shelter in the little hollow and organise the American prisoners for their march to the rear the Americans callously shell their own prisoners.
The single shell causes no casualties to either my men or the American prisoners but it does cause them to panic again and race for cover & in reality I don' t think the Americans intended to shell the hollow but instead were attempting to shell the wall line where the fighting is occurring but suffered from many of their shells going wide. Only three or four landed anywhere close to my forces.
As Hermann's SPW 251/1 slows to take the corner an enemy bazooka team in the nearby woods stands up, takes aim and fires at him. At a range of 124 metres this SPW 251/1 had a good chance of survival but a good chance doesn't always translate into actually surviving unfortunately.
It appears that the enemy was not located in the house as I expected but in the nearby woods. This is no major problem for me as I have a half-platoon of infantry which can set up in the house within two minutes to clear the woods out.
Unfortunately this comes too late for Obergefreiter Hermann who is immolated as his SPW 251/1 is incinerated by the bazooka. While I wish I had not lost Obergefreiter Hermann I consider my decision to use him as an ambush bait was correct as there was no way that any number of machinegunners could have suppressed the bazooka team in any way. I received an email asking me about this "gamey" tactic (which I want to stress didn't give away any details about Martin's forces but merely asked me why I was using a "gamey" tactic in Combat Mission if it was so realistic) and I. d like to explain something a little here to anyone who considers it gamey.
In the real war commanders were faced with multiple threats to which no single unit was the answer. E.g. infantry are great for killing exposed bazooka teams whilst half-tracks are great for rushing through bazooka-less enemy infantry positions. However, put an infantry squad to work scouting the woods to one side of a wood and it just might run into an enemy ambush which will wipe it out. If you guess that the road ahead is clear and run a tank column through it without clearing the sides first then you will not be bothered by any enemy infantry BUT if they have set up an ambush by four bazooka teams then I guarantee they will wipe out your tank platoon in a matter of seconds.
Anyway, the point is that, given Martin's previously observed deployments I am expecting bazookas and medium and heavy machineguns to be located in defensive positions. At a guess I am expecting that his current position comprises two bazooka teams, two machinegun teams and one platoon commander (we're only two turns ahead of you as I write this and I haven't managed to ID any more enemy units in that forest). This is exactly the same force Martin deployed on the hill to the east and equals one heavy weapons platoon if memory serves me right.
Anyway, my point is that I strongly suspected a heavy weapons platoon-sized ambush at roughly this location and had a choice of leading with either infantry or SPW 251/1s. Since my infantry have taken critical losses so far I chose to lead with a damaged SPW 251/1 so as to conserve the maximum amount of my offensive firepower. Unit commanders then didn't have the luxury of saving everybody and in order to expedite the advance had to risk some of their subordinates in a calculated risk so as to keep up the temp of the advance.
Think back on how many times we've all read about entire companies on board HTs being wiped out since they failed to dismount when moving through a town. Just like I have done, those commanders had to make a decision to move through the town quickly while mounted or to conduct a laborious house-clearing and checking operation at every house in the town. Unfortunately, sometimes you guess wrong and then you and your men pay the price. Luckily for me I only lost one man to this ambush & It is my opinion that it is better that I lost one man to a bazooka ambush than that I lose half a platoon to concentrated MG fire like I did the last time I assaulted a defensive position of this strength.
In other words, I don't think it was a "gamey" thing to do. I think that I tried to choose the least expensive way to uncover the enemy ambush I was expecting ahead. If I had moved Unteroffizier Geiser. s two survivors forward and they had run into two enemy MGs I would have lost two men. Mathematically I think it was the correct thing to do, tactically I need infantry more than I need SPW 251/1s in a cityfight AND emotionally I am more attached to Unteroffizier Geiser's survivors after their magnificent charge and conduct during the attack on the first enemy hilltop position.
Losses:
SPW 251/1 Obg Hermanns. 1 Dead.
Force Structure:
APCs:
SPW 251/1 Obg Mertens, 2.
SPW 251/1, Obg Taus, 2.
SPW 251/1, Obg Schultz, 2.
SPW 251/1, Lederer, 2.
Veteran Panzergrenadier Platoon:
F0 Osf Gowojy 2-2
F2 Unt Altschuler 2-6
Green Volksgrenadier Platoon:
L0 Lt Woehler 4
L1 Unt Welt 7-1
L2 Unt Vogel 8
L3 Unt Elm 8
Miscellaneous
Mg42 Rot Hoffmann 5-1
FO 210mm Rockets 2 ( 1 minutes worth of ammunition)
FO 105mm Tube Arty 2 ( 2 minutes worth of ammunition
As the four Panzergrenadiers who made it into the enemy position rush towards the nearest shell craters to take cover from direct fire an American artillery barrage falls on my foremost units.
Fortunately for me the enemy barrage is highly inaccurate OR has been ordered to be scattered widely using the "wide target" order since only three or four shells land anywhere near my positions. Of course, as my luck continues to run true, one of those shells makes a direct hit on Obergefreiter Taus. SPW 251/1 and destroys it killing both crew.
Very little else happens on this sector during this turn as I concentrate on re-organising my forces and SPW 251/1s so as to ensure that I can continue the advance to the river.
As the wall line is now securely held by German forces I order both Panzer IV Js and the StuG to advance to positions from which they can destroy the Sherman on my northern flank and from which they can bring more accurate fire to bear on enemy infantry in the village.
Enemy redeployments suffer a similar fate to my own. As Martin attempts to shift a platoon into the forest to the south of the village (to help cover the withdrawal of the ambush units I have just provoked undoubtedly) long-range tank fire seems to do some damage. One unit has been pinned whilst another has run for the nearest cover. Probably I have only caused him minimal casualties but even minimal casualties add up. If these units suffer 1 or 2 casualties each now and another 1 or 2 to long-range MG fire then they will be at only 66% strength when I finally choose to close with and destroy them with infantry. Pinning and disrupting their movements also delays the enemy defensive redeployments which can only work in my favour in any case.
Losses
SPW 251/1, Obg. Taus. 2 Dead
Kampfgruppe Vossen:
Force Strength:
1 Puma
Platoon B, Green Volksgrenadiers:
B, Leutnant Grotz, 2-2
B1a, Unt Faustle, 1-3
B1b, Obg Terborg, 4
B2, Unt Oldendahl 7-1
Platoon C, Green Volksgrenadiers:
C1 Unt Scheiner 8
C2 Unt Poppe 3-5
C3b Obg Diller 1-3
This end of turn shot shows my Puma making its way around the frozen little river and using the natural dip in the terrain at this location to provide itself with some cover from enemy fire. After all, there's no point exposing oneself unnecessarily.
This shot is an unmagnified picture taken with all vehicles and troops at "real size" to illustrate the effects of using this dip in the ground.
As you can see here this little dip in the ground has given my Puma a perfect hull-down position. Now, if only it was a King Tiger or something powerful like that instead of just another light reconnaissance vehicle I'd be more happy.
Conclusion:
Overall this turn didn't go badly. I lost a couple of SPW 251/1s but my infantry have suffered little and my forces are all on their way to or actually already in the "start locations" for the beginning of the next phase of the advance. As mopping up finishes I anticipate capturing enough new prisoners to accumulate over fifty US POWs.
I've noticed that Martin has been very callous with his usage of artillery. After I captured the men in the woods he called down a massive artillery barrage on them and my forces. Now Martin has called down another artillery barrage directly onto his own troops in the centre of the wall line AND he actually landed a shell directly into the middle of his captured troops on the southern hill.
To everyone who wondered about my treatment of prisoners I'd like to say that there's only so much I can do for them if Martin insists on calling artillery down on their old positions ;-)..
One very interesting thing to note is that Martin has only called down a light barrage on the centre of the wall line. While it proves that he is not out of artillery I can't believe that he is not using all available artillery as my armoured spearhead is now fully exposed. I hope he continues wasting it on my scattered central spearhead as every round that lands there is one which could be causing absolute butchery if it landed amongst my men to the south.
If Martin gets no tanks and no air support I'm confident that my plan of slow advances with a view to attriting each and every enemy position from as long a range as possible with tank main gun fire will work &
I've checked Martin's defensive deployments in the village and as near as I can tell from the scattered glimpses of troop movements I've seen Martin is planning the following:
1 Platoon into the woods to the south of the village to guard that flank.
1 Platoon to the scattered trees to the east of the village. (Obviously intended as a delaying force to force me to deploy and conduct an attack across a totally exposed frozen river.. I expect Martin has sited ALL his available MGs to cover this portion of the river and the bridge just in case I do launch a massed infantry charge across either )
1 Platoon in the multi-story building covering the bridge.
1 Platoon in the church covering the northern flank
1 Platoon in the central building of the apartment complex ( Probably intended to act as a reserve).
That accounts for 5 platoons. I'm pretty sure he should have scattered survivors of another three present also but since these are weak units I'm expecting Martin to order them to man the individual houses in the village on a 1 or two shattered squads per building basis.
Martin's concentration of forces in 4 major areas is a great boon to me. No doubt he feels secure in doing this since I haven. t shown him my artillery yet.
I estimate that between my 120mm mortars and sole remaining 81mm mortar I can destroy the infantry unit situated in the trees to the west of the river. My 105mm artillery will be targetted on and destroy the platoon in the multi-story building guarding the bridge whilst my 210mm rockets will destroy the platoon in the church.
I would prefer to take out the platoon in the central apartment complex with my 210mm rockets BUT since I don't want to kill my ex-comrades he is holding there I'm not going to do so.
Martin has moved several "human shields" into both the church and the building overlooking the bridge though but I have no choice but to target them with artillery for the greater good.
If he has 6 platoons on the west side of the river and I can take out 3 with artillery then this fight is still very much alive.
