1st Panzer Long Campaign - Battle 10

[FNG]

On the left, a Mark IV finally draws a bead on the T-26 that has lurked for so long while the other panzers fire independently.

[FNG]

Scratch one T-26! As you can see from the HUD, we are coming under heavy small-arms fire on the right, and the Pz-III platoon is under artillery attack.

[FNG]

The woods are becoming a graveyard...

[FNG]

Turn 13 Reaction phase. On the left flank, the panzers will keep plugging away at the counter-attacking Soviets. On the right, it is hotting up in the woods as the Soviet infantry gun draws a bead on a Sdkfz 251...

[FNG]

Damn! Another grenadier squad goes from 'fine' to 'dead' in one easy step! However, combined fires take down the 76mm infantry gun and a 50mm mortar. On the left, two more Soviet Rifle squads are killed. It's a grim day for the Panzer Grenadiers.

[FNG]

Turn 14 Orders phase. The Pz-III platoon in the centre rushes across the frozen river, partly to get out from under the Soviet bombardment, partly to engage the enemy more closely. The Mark IVs start to Bound in short hops into the woods...

[FNG]

The firefight in the woods on the right seems to be reaching a crescendo - we will need to suppress the Soviets if we are to save the beleaguered Grenadier squad...

[FNG]

The Soviet dead are now strewn across the edge of the clearing... four rifle squads perish as does the Maxim on the far right. The Grenadiers take light casualties. On the left, the advance is going smoothly so far...

[FNG]

Yet again the Fates are against the Grenadiers - they take two steps in one hit and are killed. Two more Soviet Rifle squads and a 50mm mortar and wiped out in the woods. On the left, a lone Maxim is knocked out. The Mark IVs now have two T-26s in sight so the game is afoot!

[FNG]

Turn 15 Orders phase. Too late to save the grenadiers, the half-tracks and HQ PZ-III section kill another Rifle squad and Maxim. On the left, a short duel between a lone Mark IV and two T-26s ends favourably for the panzer...

[FNG]

The Reaction phase sees the destruction of a Rifle squad and a Maxim. The Soviets have sustained massive losses and withdraw. I cannot believe that my Mark IV with a damaged main gun has not been recovered! Not just the points it will cost to replace, but the experience lost. I would be interested to find out how the system decides whether a vehicle can be recovered or not.... It may be a legendary victory, but it leaves a bitter taste...

[FNG]

For the loss of three Grenadier squads and Pz-IVe, we destroyed:
42 x Soviet Rifle squads
1 x 76mm Infantry Gun
10 x Maxim MMG
2 x 45mm ATG
1 x Sniper
2 x AT Rifle squads
6 x 50mm Mortar
2 x BT-7
5 x T-26
1 x KV-1
1 x BA-10M

Quite well done indeed, you basically steamrolled a Soviet Battalion!

Edit - <ACK, I hit "Edit" instead of "Quote" again - sorry!>

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: FNG
The Reaction phase sees the destruction of a Rifle squad and a Maxim. The Soviets have sustained massive losses and withdraw. I cannot believe that my Mark IV with a damaged main gun has not been recovered! Not just the points it will cost to replace, but the experience lost. I would be interested to find out how the system decides whether a vehicle can be recovered or not.... It may be a legendary victory, but it leaves a bitter taste...

All damage to the vehicle creates a cumulative chance that it will not be recovered. Gun damage alone is a vey small chance to not be recovered, but I guess one could say that it must have been very serious gun damage and this was the final straw for that tank after accumulated wear and tear. It's been sent back to the factory for repair and with no other replacements available, unfortunately the experienced and decorated crew is also gone.

This is one of the tough parts about a campaign - sometimes, luck turns against your favorite unit and it can be a real pain when that happens. On the positive side, I see that one of your Panzer IIIs is now a Panzer Ace as well.

Great AAR and well played though, I wish you a lot of success as you try to survive the upcoming months of the Soviet counter-offensive. Please keep us posted!

Regards,

- Erik

[FNG]

Thanks - I will post more concise briefings for the future battles. I have just loaded battle 11... a defend against a Soviet assault. I have one grenadier squad, one Sdkfz 251, two Pz-IIIg and three Pz-IVe 'on board' and the rest are reinforcements. It is a billiard table with a few scrubby woods and at least&nbsp;ten T-26s and a few BT-7s. I *really* hope that there are no T-34s or KV-1s hiding out there! [:)]

[Bil H]

Well done, my only criticism would be that your infantry pretty much acted unsupported and I think got chewed up as a result.&nbsp; It was like you were fighting two battles.&nbsp; Against a human player you might have lost even more by taking that tack.&nbsp; I personally would not have attacked across such a wide front.. but then I wasn't in command was I?&nbsp; [;)]
&nbsp;
Still, was a great read and well played.
&nbsp;
Bil

[FNG]

Thanks Bil. Not long after I was heavily engaged in the woods I thought similar thoughts [;)] I had hoped to use the Pz-IIIs in the centre as a pivot, and swing the infantry through the woods on the right, flushing out Soviet infantry on the way... Little did I realise that I had a battalion to contend with!

I further compounded the mistake by not withdrawing laterally towards my centre. The grenadiers were left in a relatively meaningless sideshow, from an 'Objectives' perspective, even if they did provide a tense and exciting fight!

In short, I allowed the initiative on the right to be taken by the Soviets and paid in grenadiers; they could mass their fires and chew me up by sheer weight of numbers. The 50mm HE rounds just don't kill 'em quick enough [:)]

Thanks again for the positive criticism - another reason why I like this forum.

Cheers.

EDIT: The phrase I should have used is for the situation I left my infantry in was an 'arse kicking competition with a porcupine''