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D2 1001 - Centre

Things are moving alright here - I've crossed the river and am moving westward. I wish I had more tanks....

D2 1059 - Time is running out!!!!

What force are you planning to exit West, Mike?

Hi Daz,

Good question. I will likely try to push the 1130rd Regt to the West Exit. I'm pushing Arty resources forward to try an exit them too. As for the armour, I'm not sure. As I'm not a real detailed person, I have not figured out the amount of armour I need to exit at each point.

Mike

D2 1633 - Go West ...

The US defence has almost disappeared. I've just captured Weiswampach and am pushing forces towards the exits. I have almost maximized the exit in the North and an arty unit is enroute to exit there.

Things appear to be going well - I know famous last words....

This particular scenario was a real bear to design and balance while maintaining the historical feel of this sector of the offensive. It's great to see it played out like this.[:)]

I like this scenario, it is challenging and there are lots of options available. I really like to have freedom to try different approaches - well done!

Decisive Victory

Well, I just managed to get the decisive victory. It was a fun and challenging scenario. I enjoyed the length and it was very nice to have more fire support resources than the US!

What went well

Overall plan was good - The initial plan went well – I got the initial Objs fairly quickly, but kept my focus on the bridges.

Seizing Opportunities - I did a good job of pushing forward to seize the opportunities that arose. It is hard sometimes to notice that enemy struggling, but I was able to seize these chances

Use of Arty - I had more arty available then in other scenarios, I also had more than the US for a change. I like how I focussed the fire support on high payoff targets such as HQs and US Arty. I was able to severely damage whatever US Arty resources were on the board – this felt good. Also, I concentrated my fire support on key enemy positions just before I attacked them – in some cases this really weakened the US forces to the point of rout as I attacked.

Things to Improve

Speed when necessary - Would have been nice to capture the Oberhausen Bridge intact – if I had been faster or more direct I might have grabbed it before it was blown.

Intelligence/recce - There were 4 companies of US Inf to the south. They could have been a factor and I did not know they were there. I should have had some forces to cover the southern flank – at least overwatch

Knowing what to exit - Once again, I had no real idea of how many forces/units I needed to exit to get full points.

I exited 6 units at the Northern exit and got 19.6/20. I’m not clear what units I sent out there
I exited 11 units at the Western exits and got 26.3/33 points. I needed to exit more armour units – or at least units with armour points

Other random points

Scenario length
It was fun playing a shorter scenario, but harder to manage rest for my front line units

Having more Arty is great.
It was really nice to have more arty than the US. It makes everything so much easier!

Well played Mike.

Especially seeing as you had one of the bridges blown in your face.
Did you start to re-build the bridge to try and get the completion points for the objective?
Its such a short scenario I'm not even sure it would be possible? Maybe if you assigned multiple engineer units to it there may have been time?

With so much artillery, and so little time, I think I would have gone for two very narrow fronts, following the shortest routes to the bridges, and the exit points, then smashed my way along them leap frog fashion, with a rolling barrage to soften the way.
In effect that would split the map in two with my entire force concentrated in the north, and centre, blocking, and bypassing enemy around the southern bridge at Ouren.

Its looks like a great little scenario, and I'm looking forward to giving it a go when I get home to see if its a viable option.

Great AAR thanks Mike [&o]

Daz,

Thanks. It was fun.

I thought about re-building the bridge, but decided that there was not even time - I think I only had one engineer unit.

I like your option - concentration of force can be very powerful and in this case with the limited time, it would likely be a very good approach. I look forward to seeing your AAR.

I'm glad you enjoyed my AAR - I enjoy putting it together and getting feedback and questions along the way.

I'm starting a larger task now - looking at the Race to Bastogne scenario. It looks very interesting and challenging!

Have a good day,

Mike

Thanks Mike, I may have to try this one over. I didn't have the bridge blown but still didn't get decisive victory. Seems like I had a hard time keeping objectives once I secured them.

Thanks
Rick

It took me two goes, but I managed to prove that an advance on two narrow fronts tactic, is a valid one.
It does require an awful lot of micro management of the numerous artillery units in this scenario though, to keep the advance from stalling.

I've just been looking back through your AAR Mike.
This is very similar to your option 1 "Drive on the Bridges", especially the opening phase of the battle.

Its a lot more fun to read through the AAR after having just played the battle.
Its a great AAR thanks Mike [:)]

I'm going to post this aid here as well, to keep all of this scenario in the same place, and add to the excellent work you have already done on the planning for it.
Hope that's ok with you Mike?

Hi Guys,

Rick, it is a fun scenario that does not take too long - the blown bridge did not help, but I think that by sending forces North right away allowed for success.

Daz,

Well done on your narrow front option - I like that. Using the Arty to help pave the way is fun - yes, I know as a Gunner, using Arty is always fun! I agree with you, I had to keep focusing on the shortness of the scenario - it was tempting to pause my lead units, but the time was not there. Your score is great!

Thanks for adding the breakdown of the armour values - this is a great addition and will hopefully help someone else complete the scenario. I would have loved to have this information as I was progressing forward.

For those who have not tried this one, give it a go. I think you will find it fun. It is great to have more fire support than the Americans for once.

Have a great day!