3rd Herd AAR [Soviet #2]
Posted: Wed May 13, 2020 10:18 am
Fought another battle over the weekend, another bloody affair. Slowly learning the nuances of the Red Army. As others have observed, standing off and shooting is what NATO excels at; if you allow them to do that your forces will disintegrate. Also, to paraphrase Zhukov, the most direct route isn't necessarily the most dangerous -- a massive attack against an obstacle can be overcome with fewer casualties than trying to maneuver around it. The slow command cycle makes adjustments ponderous: and that's dangerous. Indeed, NATO excels at maneuvering due to their shorter command cycles, but that can be partially negated by hunting down their regiment HQs. For the Reds, closer is better; otherwise, don't present a target. Should also add I fight every battle 'blind' in that it's a first attempt. Played a few before I began writing AARs, going from the bottom: Purple One to Dawn's First Light. Anyway, onto the show.
Phase 1
The plan was as follows: a mechanized rifle regiment (MRR) from the southeast were to seize Lauterbach and move across the river to hold the bridges. Air Defense were to set up on a wooded hill to its northeast. From the north, a T-80BV tank regiment (TR) accompanied by a MRR were to advance towards Wallenrod via the wooded plateau to its immediate east and swinging through the town of Maar. They were to interdict any advancing NATO forces, giving time for those in Lauterbach to dig in, and if possible occupy Wallenrod and hold it. Far to the south, a small recon detachment were to blow the last bridge near Lautertal and thus funnel NATO forces towards the bridge at the town of Frischborn, which was to be held by a separate MRR. Hinds were kept in reserve, because it was unknown where NATO would deploy their own rotary wing (RW) forces. The initial deployment went without issue. Then NATO RW fores showed up.
Accompanied by Kiowas, an initial force of Apaches hovered over the Western bank of the river. Air Defense, a platoon of Buks (or Gadflys), were not yet in position due to the difficult terrain, and so for now the Apaches had free reign. Soviet forces approaching from the road leading to Angersbach fared better than those who emerged from the wooded terrain overlooking Lauterbach: the Apaches shot them to pieces. The northern force avoided a catastrophe by splitting between roads L3161 and L3140; they ran parallel to one another, but L3140 was well within shooting range of the Apaches and casualties were suffered as a result. Those travelling L3161 advanced without incident, even if it was slower. Once within line of sight, the Buks opened fire and downed one Apache but the rest of their missiles failed to hit, and they were forced to halt and reload. Behind the advance forces of T-80BVs and BMP-2PGs came a platoon of Tunguskas. Their firepower forced NATO RWs to draw back somewhat, suffering casualties, allowing advancing MRRs to arrive and hold at their objectives. As the northern force arrived at the elevated terrain east of Wallenrod, it quickly became obvious that they were running straight into the NATO spearhead: multitudes of M1A1(HA)s, M2A2 Bradleys, and the rest of the Kiowa and Apache RWs were swarming around the depression containing the town. Any hope of advancing was quickly blunted by the sheer firepower concentrated by advancing NATO forces, the Apaches, again, distinguishing themselves by their effectiveness. As the Tunguskas were still too far away, 203mm Malkas were ordered to neutralize the hovering RWs. After a thunderous barrage all but one of the Apaches were destroyed, giving the northern Soviet force some breathing room. They moved to the woods and resolved to hold against the advance, doing as much damage as possible.
Phase 1
The plan was as follows: a mechanized rifle regiment (MRR) from the southeast were to seize Lauterbach and move across the river to hold the bridges. Air Defense were to set up on a wooded hill to its northeast. From the north, a T-80BV tank regiment (TR) accompanied by a MRR were to advance towards Wallenrod via the wooded plateau to its immediate east and swinging through the town of Maar. They were to interdict any advancing NATO forces, giving time for those in Lauterbach to dig in, and if possible occupy Wallenrod and hold it. Far to the south, a small recon detachment were to blow the last bridge near Lautertal and thus funnel NATO forces towards the bridge at the town of Frischborn, which was to be held by a separate MRR. Hinds were kept in reserve, because it was unknown where NATO would deploy their own rotary wing (RW) forces. The initial deployment went without issue. Then NATO RW fores showed up.
Accompanied by Kiowas, an initial force of Apaches hovered over the Western bank of the river. Air Defense, a platoon of Buks (or Gadflys), were not yet in position due to the difficult terrain, and so for now the Apaches had free reign. Soviet forces approaching from the road leading to Angersbach fared better than those who emerged from the wooded terrain overlooking Lauterbach: the Apaches shot them to pieces. The northern force avoided a catastrophe by splitting between roads L3161 and L3140; they ran parallel to one another, but L3140 was well within shooting range of the Apaches and casualties were suffered as a result. Those travelling L3161 advanced without incident, even if it was slower. Once within line of sight, the Buks opened fire and downed one Apache but the rest of their missiles failed to hit, and they were forced to halt and reload. Behind the advance forces of T-80BVs and BMP-2PGs came a platoon of Tunguskas. Their firepower forced NATO RWs to draw back somewhat, suffering casualties, allowing advancing MRRs to arrive and hold at their objectives. As the northern force arrived at the elevated terrain east of Wallenrod, it quickly became obvious that they were running straight into the NATO spearhead: multitudes of M1A1(HA)s, M2A2 Bradleys, and the rest of the Kiowa and Apache RWs were swarming around the depression containing the town. Any hope of advancing was quickly blunted by the sheer firepower concentrated by advancing NATO forces, the Apaches, again, distinguishing themselves by their effectiveness. As the Tunguskas were still too far away, 203mm Malkas were ordered to neutralize the hovering RWs. After a thunderous barrage all but one of the Apaches were destroyed, giving the northern Soviet force some breathing room. They moved to the woods and resolved to hold against the advance, doing as much damage as possible.
