Alby Vs. Steve

[StephanFH]

Final Roster, Soviet:

[StephanFH]

Final Roster, Soviet:

[StephanFH]

Final Roster, Soviet:

[StephanFH]

Final Roster, Soviet:

[Alby]

ORIGINAL: StephanFH

Game ends, Turn 13 of 24. Soviet Marginal Victory.Soviet casualties: 36%
Romanian casualties (on board): 95%
Off Board: One Company of light tanks (8) infiltrating.

As it turns out, by Depot Combat League Rules, Alby did give me a 33% handicap. Of course about 25% of his force never made it on board. Nevertheless this might more properly be termed a draw. In the end, though, the point was to have some fun, which I certainly did. Alby was a most gracious and sportsmanlike opponent.

Some lessons learned:
1) Win the reconnaissance battle. Slow down and find the enemy before attacking pell mell. I knew this in theory, now I need to do it in practice.
2) See number one above!
3) Counter battery. I actually did locate two sections of his mortars on turn eight, then failed to follow up with adequate counter battery. They survived the game and did a great deal of damage.
4) Move a little bit slower in the assault. The game ended at the mid point. I could have greatly reduced my casualties by slowing down a few turns. However I am still ambivalent about this as additional turns might have meant the arrival of Alby’s infiltrating company of tanks. Hindsight and second-guessing.
5) Exercise more caution in firing artillery danger close. I took significant casualties from this. There is again some ambivalence here as I still firmly believe some friendly fire casualties are necessary on the assault.
6) Purchase more on-board vs. off-board artillery. Lt.Col Lisichev’s laments about his mortars are accurate. The Katyushas did not fire even once until turn eight. One battery of 122mm FHs never fired at all. Another battery of heavy mortars would have been more cost-effective. However the battery of Katyushas were a very worthwhile investment. Alby called their effect “devastating”.

The bottom line here is that I had a real blast. Back to the books as an ACL student for me for now. Final screen shots and rosters follow for those interested.

Thanks for the game, you whupped me good!

Your DARS are very nice!
[:)]