US Campaign - Hunting Bears

[MikeJ19]

Things are heating up

[MikeJ19]

Things are going well

[MikeJ19]

Continuing to mop up.

[MikeJ19]

Air support is very nice

[MikeJ19]

The Soviets push back

[MikeJ19]

Another counter attack...

[Mad Russian]

"And the battle rages back and forth across the West German countryside." [X(]

Good Hunting.

MR

[Jagger2002]

"the soviet artillery has been very effective-taking out my HQ-and me-"

Well at least you won't have to worry about putting together an AAR lessons learned briefing.

[MikeJ19]

Mad Russian,

The Soviets had me chasing my tail a couple of times - lots of fun!!!

Jagger2002,

Good point, but I will miss the drinks afterwards too!

[MikeJ19]

With a little less than 30 minutes left, the Soviets hit their casualty limit and offered me a chance to end it. I wish they had reached the limit 30 minutes earlier - as I would have held on for a tactical success, but such is life.

This was fun.

Even though I was declared dead in the game, I will finish the AAR... probably tomorrow morning.

[MikeJ19]

AAR

What did I do right?

I reacted well to the Soviet moves. When they headed for the Southern bridge over the Este River, I was able to get a tank company in place quickly – would have been better if I had had those moves pre-planned – more on that below.
Regrouping – I did a good job of switching command and control of units throughout the game. I really like how the game forces us to think about command issues rather than letting us just plug forces into different spots.

Tracking the Soviet forces. I think that I did a much better job at looking and thinking about what the Soviets might have left and where they might be. Before I launched my counter attack, I considered the risks of possible Soviet responses and looked at mitigation factors. It is interesting that both risks that I identified were things the Soviets did – an attack in the North and a counter attack out of Buchholz.

My counter attack to recover VP Locations went very well – and was a lot of fun to execute. This was one of the first times I have been able to launch a counter attack and have it really succeed.

What could I improve on?

I was surprised, again, by how quickly the Soviets were on top of my units. I lost two Inf companies because I underestimated how quickly they would be overwhelmed. This is difficult to manage, but if I had moved them to screen tasks, I might have been able to save them. In the planning stages, I need to think about how to withdraw or disengage my forces. I should have started planning the withdrawal of the company in Buchholz right after I saw the damage done to the company in the South.

I should plan moves for my reserves. Instead of leaving units in screen or hold tasks when in reserve, I should have their moves planned to where I most likely would need them and then put delays to the movement. This will make the move much quicker when it is needed. If I had done this with the Tank company supporting the Inf Pl at the bridge over the Este River, I would likely have not suffered as much damage to the Pl and removed the threat much quicker.

I lost some HQs because I did not move them. I need to remember to move them every once and a while so that they do not become easy targets for the Soviet Artillery.

Thoughts on the scenario/game

This was a lot of fun. There are lots of different approaches that can be taken for this scenario and the Soviets do a good job of making your life difficult.

It was really nice to be able to launch a counter attack late in the game. I really enjoyed striking back.

As usual, I would have liked to have more artillery – but as a gunner, I always want more guns.

I’m looking forward to the second scenario in the campaign and a chance to understand/see what affect my losses in the first scenario have on my chances in the second.

[Enigma6584]

A simply superb AAR! [&o]

[MikeJ19]

Red Charlie65,

Thank you very much. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I find it very helpful taking the time to do the AARs as I play, it helps slow me down and make me think about the game.

Have a good day,

Mike