BFTB AAR: Race for the Meuse

[HansBolter]

3 hours later Stavelot:

I'm starting to sweat bullets here! I have NO RESERVES.

A concerted combined arms push into the very center of the town is reaping fruit.

5.5 hours till the vanguard of KG Hansen enters the map and likely 7 hours before any reinforcements can reach the town.

The Fuerher has ordered "Hold at all costs".

Day 4 2200 hours Stavelot:

[HansBolter]

Same time bridgehead:

Not much has changed here except that the abteilungs ordered to attack the Amis in the woods east of Werbomont are
surrounding and overrunning the 505th Parachute Infantry Regimental HQ!

Day 4 2200 hours bridgehead:

[HansBolter]

3 hours later Stavelot:

I'm starting to thnk I cannot hold the town. The Ami drive has almost reached the objective and
has caused me to lose control of it. At least 6 hours till reinforcements can reach the town.
I fully expect to be driven out and forced to retake it by counterattack.

Day 5 0100 hours Stavelot:

[HansBolter]

Same time overall eastern sector:

This shows the big picture in the eastern sector.

Technically, since teh Stavelot bridge is only a 5VP objective and I have another supply source on the map
edge further south (where KG Hansen arrives) losing Stavelot would not be the end of the world. Since the main objective
worth 75VP is to exit a large force I amy be getting carried away holding so tough at Stavelot.

BUT, since destroying the enemy is worth 25VP and Stavelot is attracting such a large concentration of the eneies forces, and
the simple fact that I love a good fight, I will give it everything I can while trying not to lose sight of satisfying the exit objective.

The tanks on the road leading south to Trois Ponts have not managed to bypass the flak since I reinforced it with a pak (hidden
under the flak at this zoom level).

Day 5 0100 Eastern Sector:

[HansBolter]

Same time bridgehead:

Very little has changed here.

I am holding tough on my possessions waiting for reinforcements to be able to start exiting.

Day 5 0100 bridgehead:

[HansBolter]

2 hours later Stavelot:

What a night! My grenadiers and the lone panzer company have triumphed!
The Amis are falling back and I have regained control of the objective.
Sandig held tough and the arrival of reinforcements in a few hours should solidify thing for me again.
Whew! That was close. Not out of the woods yet, but it is looking much, much better than it did at 0100 hours!

Day 5 0300 hours Stavelot:

[HansBolter]

Same time central sector:

At leaat one tank company has gotten by my flak and pak kompanies on the road north of Trois Ponts.
I mentioned earlier that I was not happy with the lack of a line company here so the much over taxed
9.1 Pioner Kompanie is heading out from Cheneux to reinforce this position. The pioners are the only real
line units not subordinate to a battalion HQ and I end up sing them as regimental and divisional fire brigades,
and for side show escapades like Cheneux.

Day 5 0300 Central Sector:

[HansBolter]

Same time bridgehead:

About the only thing that has changed here is that the tiger kompanie with the attached aufklarungs kompanie that was attacking
the paras west of Oufny has relocated to Werbomont to reattach to it's parent HQ. The 1.1 panxer kompanie that was attacking/screening
south of the objective bridge took over the position vacated by the tiger. Everything else here is status quo as the units get some much deserved rest.

Day 5 0300 bridgehead:

[HansBolter]

2 hours later eastern sector:

KG Hansen HQ and attached units have arrived. The regimental abteilungs will follow over the next few hours.
Hansen will head for the bridgehead along with two of his abteilungs. One abteilung will divert to Stavelot.

The 9.1 Pioner Kompanie is transiting Trois Ponts it the way to block the tanks while the pak and flak
(still hard to see as they are stacked) have fallen back to a new screen position. Note how attrited the pioner
is from the many escapades I have involved it in! Forty six percent strength, but it still has 100 men. The pioner's
are some of the strongest kompanies in the German forces, not just in firepower, but in numbers of men. They pack
quite a punch and are extremely resilient.

Still some Amis between Stavelot and the woods, but I hold the town and I'm NOT giving it up!

Day 5 0502 hours eastern sector:

[HansBolter]

Same time western sector:

Nothing has changed here so let's look at the fatigue levels.

Not too bad as most units have had a decent rest this night.

Only a few kompanies are still heaviuly fatigued.

Note that the WINmeter is still straight up.

I haven't yet secured a victory as I have not exited a single unit and am not even halfway
to completing teh Destroy Enemy task.

A little over two days left to acheive my objectives.

Day 5 0502 hours western sector:

[HansBolter]

2 hours later Stavelot:

The Amis are pushing at the edge of the town again. My town defenders are holding tough.
The 4 line units (3 motorised infanterie kompanies and 1 panzer kompanie) holding the main line in
the town are at 72% strength so they have held well without horrendous losses.

The II.1 Motorised Infanterie Abteilung of KG Hansen is arriving to bolster the defense so I no longer have concerns
and expect to be able to kill some Ami units as they press their attack.

The 9.1 Pioner has arrived to help the pak and flak block the Ami tanks so things are looking solid again across this front. [:)]

Day 5 0700 hours Stavelot:

[HansBolter]

I hope that satisfies the appetite for a bit.

I need to get home and get some dinner.

I'll add another update Thursday or Friday evening.

[flintlock]

Enjoying following this AAR. Appreciate your effort in keeping it alive.

[HansBolter]

Same time Big picture:

Here is an overall shot showing KG Hansen's components on their way. The HQ and attached
elements are enroute to Werbomont passing through the Bois de Rahier. The III.1 Motorised
Infanterie Abteilung is approaching Trois Ponts with the I.1 just having entered the map, both
on their way behind the HQ to reinforce Werbomont and allow me to start satisfying the exit
requirement. The third abteilung of this regiment is about to reinforce Stavelot.

With the arrival of these reinforcements I SHOULD have started exiting units on day 5. In scenarios with
exit tasks as the main objective, the scenario automatically ends as soon as the exit task is complete no matter
how much time is left in the scenario. I completely forgot this! At this point I was thinking that if I exited enough
units to satisfy the exit task I would be very hard pressed to hold the rest of my objectives for another two days
and would also be too depleted of on map strength to make much more headway on the Destroy Enemy task.
So, I decided to hold off on exiting until very near the end of the scenario on day seven. i figured I could spend
the next two days trashing the Americans and driving to the north exit so I could use both exits on day 7 and get
a really decisive victory.

This is one of the drawbacks of depicting a larger battle with smaller scenarios that are not linked. Historically, if Peiper
had reached the edge of this map by day 5 he would have driven on as fast as possible to get to the Meuse, his real objective.
The next two days worth of spreading out, killing Ami units and generally wreaking havoc across this map are kind of gamey
but I will continue the AAR so you can get a good look at the game features and enjoy the action. [:)]

Day 5 0700 Big Picture:

[Rebel Yell]

Damned immersive.  Your AAR's are well done.
Too bad there isn't a lot more map to continue driving to the Meuse.  [:D]

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: Rebel Yell

Damned immersive.  Your AAR's are well done.
Too bad there isn't a lot more map to continue driving to the Meuse.  [:D]

Thank you very much for the compliment. Actually, this is my first AAR ever. I was kind of nervous about doing one and have probably gone a bit overboard describing the action in detail. I see many AARs that are more like an overview synopsis than a detailed account of the action. I have enjoyed writing this as it allows me to re-live the action all over again, but I am finding that it is a time consuming effort. This last installment took about three hours to generate and it is full of typos from trying to type it too fast to keep up with my stream of thought. I usually try to go back and correct the as many of the typos as I can find. I can see from the effort involved in producing something this detailed why many AARs are more streamlined.

There is a Peiper Crosses the Meuse scenario I have playtested as well, which is not linked to this one, but assumes he succeeded in getting across this area of the Ardennes in a manner similar to what I have done. I am currently playtesting a Cracking the Goose Egg scenario which is also turning out to be a great one. BFTB will be full of great scenarios....I just hope everyone is patient enough to wait for it.

[simovitch]

ORIGINAL: HansBolter
In scenarios with exit tasks as the main objective, the scenario automatically ends as soon as the exit task is complete no matter how much time is left in the scenario.

HB, it doesn't have to - only if the scenario designates the objective as 'auto end' (AE).

Very nice AAR btw. Funny no bridges were blown... where are the damned engineers?

[Deathtreader]

Hi,

Really appreciate the effort HB......... I've enjoyed this AAR immensely!! [:)]

Rob.

[HansBolter]

ORIGINAL: simovitch

ORIGINAL: HansBolter
In scenarios with exit tasks as the main objective, the scenario automatically ends as soon as the exit task is complete no matter how much time is left in the scenario.

HB, it doesn't have to - only if the scenario designates the objective as 'auto end' (AE).

Very nice AAR btw. Funny no bridges were blown... where are the damned engineers?

The main bridges were supposed to be primed at scenario start. That is one of the glitches my playtesting uncovered. There were engineer units at Stavelot and Trois Ponts but I overran them before they got a chance to prime the bridges. Later in the game some engineer units do prime a couple of bridges north of Werbomont which are non-essential and I end up blowing them as I go by them on my way to the northern exit point. In fact I think one is primed already as can be seen in some of the later screenshots.

A revised version with the bridges at Stavelot and Trois Ponts primed will make for a much more variable outcome and some playthroughs that will result in a diversion to the northern route...making things much more challenging for the German side.

I didn't know about the auto-end designation choice in scenario design. Without it in this scenario the Germans could be giving up much of what they have taken if they exit too soon. Exiting as soon as possible should be a criteria in this sceanrio in light of the main objectives of the offensive so I think the auto-end is appropriate in this case. In fact, in an effort to keep moving as quickly as possible to reach the Meuse, the time pressure factor should come into play in the scenario VP considerations. It would be cool if the VPs associated with exiting were variable dependant on the time of exit. The Germans should be rewarded for exiting as soon as possible and penalized for taking too long to do so.

[Arjuna]

It would be cool if the VPs associated with exiting were variable dependant on the time of exit. The Germans should be rewarded for exiting as soon as possible and penalized for taking too long to do so.

 
Good idea!