A Time to Dance (2.0.11.2) (Warsaw Pact)

[Stimpak]

Mostly for the purposes of testing 2.0.11.2, here's a short AAR of everyone's favorite scenario.

Side I will be playing is Warsaw Pact.


In the options tab, F is on to give me a better look at what's happening with readiness levels and unit counts.
I typically leave D off for Warsaw Pact.


At 0400 hours, July 21st, 1989, Soviet forces cross the border between West and East Germany at Bad Neustadt an der Saale. The strike comes after months of diplomatic maneuvering by the Soviet Union to fool NATO into believing it is withdrawing east from the German Democratic Republic, but in reality it is advancing west, into the Federal Republic of Germany.

Leading the Soviet advance is 17th Guards Tank Regiment of the 79th Guards Tank Division. The Operational group consists of two Tank battalions and one MRB, supported by a recon company, AT company, AA company, two batteries of 2S3 Akatsiya, and finally an airstrike section of MiG-23MF.
Unit Totals:
62x T-80U
34x BMP-2 obr. 1989
9x BRDM-2
9x BRDM-2 Konkurs
14x 2S3 Akatsiya
3x 2K22 Tunguska
3x BTR-ZD Skrezhet
3x BTR-60PU
4x MT-LBu
4x BMP-Ksh
2x MiG-23MF w/ 2x AS-7 Kerry, 64 S-5K rockets each

Opposing us is the 2nd Squadron, 11th ACR. In a twist of fate, the last unit of the regiment to leave Vietnam is the first to be set upon by the Soviet horde. At 0400 hours, 122mm and 152mm shells fall upon Camp Lee like steel rain and alert the 2nd Squadron to action.

Version is 2.0.11.2, an open beta for the next version of Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm. The patch introduces new features, support for map .jpgs rather than .pngs, balance changes, AI behavior fixes, and as always, bug fixes [:D].

[Stimpak]

In the pregame, at 0400 hours, I give the order for the Soviet forces to advance their positions as seen in the above image. Also in the pregame, I pick a "Side", that is the portion of the map that will offer me the most VP location points for the least amount of effort. In this instance, I decide that the 4000 point objective and two 1500 point objectives around Bad Neustadt itself will offer me the most, against the 3000 point objective at Camp Lee and two 1500 point objectives along the B279.

Forces are divided into two groups: Main body, and recon assets. The recon assets consist of the recon company, and the AT company. Their objective is not only to scout the northern side of the map, but to also alert NATO, making them believe that I intend to strike from the east, and thus drawing their forces. A short half-hour skirmish erupts: Six BRDM-2s, three with Konkurs launchers, cross the Saale amphibiously at Heustreu (A small difference I notice from earlier versions; usually they'd automatically build a bridge) and secure the 1500 point objective there, immediately drawing the attention of two HMMWV, an Abrams platoon, and a troop of M3A1 Bradley. The Humvee section, HQ section containing an Abrams, and a Bradley section are all destroyed by the combined firepower of the Konkurs BRDM-2s and Soviet Artillery support. An Abrams platoon blunders into open view and suffers two losses to Konkurs (AT-5) fire before the two survivors enter Heustreu and destroy all six BRDM-2s in that town, re-securing the 1500 objective point.

Somehow the Soviets know that all bridges across the Saale are already blown. UAVs? I surmise that NATO thus has no forces on my side of the bank, and I proceed with moving the main body into it's staging area, south of Bad Neustadt.

[Stimpak]

The rest of the BRDM-2s cross the Saale and are immediately engaged by large amounts of NATO forces at Camp Lee. A Bradley Troop, Abrams troop, and Abrams company wipe them out to the last vehicle, which however is a success for me, as it means I have successfully drawn NATO forces away from the real focus of my attack, as well as giving the artillery a good idea where the enemy armor is. Artillery is ordered to raze Camp Lee.

Meanwhile, the tank battalions of the main body are resupplied and ready to go. At 0700 hours they are ordered to move, and timed so that every company of the main body arrives on the river bank at the exact same time of 0723 hours. Once the combat engineers (abstracted) establish the bridges, they will swarm into Bad Neustadt and secure the 7000 total objective points there. The MRB is still resupplying, but are detected by enemy SIGINT assets. A mortar barrage takes out 3 BMPs and their infantry.



By the next orders phase, the MRB is resupplied and awaits orders. I keep them as the second echelon, arriving at 0756 hours as opposed to the 0723 of the rest of the main body. At this time, FASCAM is laid on the roads leading towards Bad Neustadt to cut off any NATO reinforcements while also assisting in the establishment of a defensive position.

[Stimpak]

Airstrikes and Artillery claim several losses among the Americans at Camp Lee. Without any counterbattery assets or air defense assets beyond the Stinger, they're as helpless as a babe set upon by wolves.

The following combat is short and brutal. A platoon of Bradleys is caught off guard and silenced by a dozen tank guns while they cross the Saale. Flushing out the town, no defenders are found within it, rather they are all caught moving north and east as the feint continues to fool them. Before he knows what is going on, the NATO commander suffers the further loss of three Bradleys and two Humvees. A desperate TOW shot claims the first T-80U kill of the day. A locally responding M1A1HA platoon is immediately caught in the FASCAM and obliterated by gun fire, but not before they claim three T-80Us themselves. Another Abrams platoon is identified at Camp Lee and it begins trading shots with the T-80Us... at 3.5km.

[Stimpak]

Another Abrams platoon charges down the northern road and through the cleared FASCAM, directly into the maw of the defending T-80Us. They claim 2 T-80Us but are vaporized at 2km by the fire of 15 guns.
Mortar fire begins blanketing the town, neutralizing 3 BMP-2s.

Further north, the MiG-23's strafing runs now make it clear that an entire company of Abrams is holed up around Camp Lee. Airstrikes and artillery continue to pound their position, claiming 1-3 losses every strike. Dueling with the platoon of M1A1s, the Soviet tankers switch from their guns (1-5% hit chance at that range) to their AT-11 "Refleks" ATGMs (33% hit chance). In good cover and with the better weapon for the range, the M1A1s are picked off one-by-one. They are then joined by another platoon of M1A1 Abrams, itself also being destroyed by Refleks fire.

The reserve MRC, still having suffered no losses, advances to opportunistically claim another 1500 point objective at the northern bank.

[Stimpak]

0900 Hours
The MiGs clean up what's left of the Abrams, while the BMP-2s run headlong into a section of Bradleys and destroy them without any casualties.
Without any sufficient forces to crack the Soviets' defensive positions, the remaining American elements retreat from the sector. Soviet battlefield influence at this stage is so great, that the sheer weight of their forces capture the rest of the VPs on the map. The game ends in a 95% victory for the Soviet forces.

[Stimpak]

As usual, I am dropping the endgame .sav file here:

http://puu.sh/nKyR5/1a279198d2.sav

[Rincovsk]

Nice AAR. What were your feelings and impresions Stimpak? Looked like it played well right? Did you try a more heavy NATO opposition enviroment? I will try some scenarios over the weekend. Cheers

[budd]

Yea, our favorite[:D] ... Looks like the AI didnt put up much of a fight, did you lose any units on your side of the river? I wonder if a human NATO will be able to blow all those bridges, as many times as i've played that scenario i think i usually get 2. Playing this scenario as NATO with limited orders was a bear.

[CapnDarwin]

It's a classic when played from the NATO side. Playing from the Soviet side is easier against the AI since it does a basic defense. You need an aggressive plan to beat the Soviets when you are NATO with the setup the scenario hands you.

Still a great AAR! Thanks for sharing it.[&o]

Hopefully we will make it a much tougher scenario when we have the Southern Storm game engine running it. [;)]

[budd]

Once i jump back into the game a time to dance will be the first i try....again...maybe this time without limited orders[;)]...cant recall ever beating it as NATO with limited orders. Waiting for the re-balance before jumping back in.

question: will the reforge scenarios be getting re-balanced also

[Stimpak]

I didn't get enough information from this AAR to gauge the balance differences in 2.0.11.2. As others have pointed out, this is one of the easiest scenarios for Warsaw Pact. I should test a version that gives me more staunch opposition, such as Witch's Cauldron or Test of Wills.

Somethings I do note however are the newfound effectiveness of dedicated Soviet ATGM vehicles. I don't recall ever killing much of anything with them in earlier versions.

[Lowlaner2012]

Stimpack, I played the scenario Hell in Hamlin last night and noted that the Milan II atgms are more deadly than earlier game versions also, seems atgms have got sharp teeth now, the game is for me at least is feeling well balanced now...

[Deathtreader]

Hi,

Thanks for the AAR!

I like the counters you're playing with....private mod? Or are they available somewhere?

BTW/ Still playing your campaign. Tough fights abound, particularly with the "squishiness" you've alluded to concerning WP armour et al. Gonna be close......[X(]

Rob.

[Lowlaner2012]

Deathtreader I believe all armor is a tad more squishy, I have been playing hell in Hamlin and my Leopards 2's have been taking a beating, Capn Darwin stated earlier in this thread that the higher lethality is due to bugs being squashed in the code for direct fire.....

The battlefield in the beta feels a bit more deadlier and unforgiving, and rightly so [8D]