Matrix Games Forums

Southern attack..........

07240355z….vic Sittensen. The Russian tanks had just cleared the woods south of Kalbe and were deploying into company lines when the FASCAM landed. Small parachutes started to float down over the vehicles and as some landed on top of turrets, the explosions started. Chaos took over as vehicles turned left and right trying to avoid the minelets. As the carnage unfolded to their front, the tankers of A/2/66Ar pulled into the line with Bravo. The night sky lit up as the cannons of over 40 M1A1’s fired at the scrambling enemy vehicles….

Vic Hamersen…The eleven tanks and three M2’s Bradley’s of TF D 3/41 unleashed a murderous barrage of fire at the two approaching columns. The southern attack was mauled at 3000m’s before it even had a chance to deploy. They shifted fires to the center column that had dropped into the low ground in front of their positions. By the time the lead vehicles had reached the bridge, only a handful remained. It was a slaughter. The Russian return fire was inaccurate as they could only shoot at the muzzle flashes.

07240412z…As BMNT arrived over the battlefield, the light rain had turned into a downpour. Sporatic firing could still be heard along with muffled explosions as ammunition in the destroyed enemy vehicles continued to cook off. Reports were coming over all the command nets. Both LTC Tatum and Miller were on the Bde Cmd net letting Gen Funk know the status of their units and what was occurring within their sectors. Tatum was reporting no movement to his front. The attack in his sector was stopped within 1500m’s of the woods. All his Company’s except Alpha, needed resupply of Class III and V.

Miller’s TF Delta was reporting the enemy tank company occupying Helvesiek was stationary and not making any attempt to leave the town. He had ordered his Alpha Company to relieve the tankers in place. Once the positons were handed off, the tanks were to pull back into Hamersen to resupply.

Gen Funk walked over to his S2’s battle map. Fuller had tracked the battle with multiple overlays and as Funk flipped the multiple sheets of acetate back and forth, he realized he need to know what was to the east of the woods that sat between the L142 and B75 highways. Was there another enemy force approaching? He ordered his last remaining OH58 Aero Scout to recon west of Wisted, then south to Konigsmoor.

S2's Battle Map....

Gen Funk had just received the latest report from the Aero Scout confirming the absence of any enemy forces east of the large wooded area south of Kalbe. He called over his S3, Ltc Warden. Warden put down the mic and walked outside of the S3 track. “Sam, which forces do we have that can conduct a “Recon in Force” mission southeast of Kalbe within 45 minutes?” asked Funk. “Give me a second Sir” replied Warden as he reached back into the track. He grabbed a clipboard listing the location and status of each of the Brigades combat units. “B/4/41Inf and A/2/66Ar. Bravo is still in its hide position northwest of Sittensen along the A1. Alpha has completed the relief of B/2/66Ar north of the town and reported Redcon 1 ststus Green after the last fight. There’s a Scout Section here that can reach the Oste and check out the crossing sites the Russians used” said Warden as he pointed to each location on the generals map. “Get the Scouts moving Sam but keep them north of the river. Contact Miller and inform him that Bravo will be chopped to 2/66Ar for this operation effective now. I’m going higher to get approval” said Funk as he moved towards his Humvee.

The NORTHAG commander had been following the fight of the 2AD (Fwd). As soon as dawn broke, he had ordered a recon flight of F4 Phantoms to overfly the sector to confirm the reports he’d received of the battle. The first photo’s being transmitted over a satellite link showed a battlefield covered in smoke. The following ones clearly showed hundreds of vehicles littering the countryside between Sittensen and Helvesiek. “John, take a look at this” said the British General. “ The Yanks bloodied Ivan pretty bad. That’s at least a divisions worth of equipment burning in that sector. Get Gen Funk on the radio for me…..

07240445z....The message from NORTHAG confirmed his Aero Scouts reports. The Americans owned the battlefield. There was no appreciable enemy presence in the sectors Funk wanted to recon. Higher pressed upon him that "Preservation of Force" was the current mission, but the Recon in Force was approved.

Funk sketched some graphics on his map and handed them to Ltc Warden. "Give em time to issue their orders Sam, but we need to find the RAG/DAG.

0724052z-1000z....Throughout the next five hours, the two companies slowly advanced within their sectors and when required, destroyed equipment as they came upon it. A/2/66Ar had ambushed a enemy HQ's element travelling down the B75. B/4/41 Inf had hit another in Wisted. At 0724800z, the RAG/DAG was found......

End Game....A little over 2hrs into the battle, the game informed me that over 70% of the enemy had been destroyed and that since I had over a 4-1 advantage in victory points, the US forces controlled the battlefield. This level of victory prevented the Warsaw Pact from recovering any of its units that had "Fallen Out". That was a first for me....

The choice to continue the battle and proceed to locate the enemy Regimental/Divisional Artillery Groups was "gamey" at best, but I wanted to see how it would effect the next battle within the campaign.

My decision to start the battle at 0200 was to take advantage of the M1/M3's Thermal Imagery Sights (TIS) and the long fields of view offered from the defensive positions I was determined to occupy...if I could beat the enemy to them! The weather provided another advantage by limiting visibility to 500m-1500m's for most of the fight.

The initial setup locations for the US forces dictated that this would be a "Movement to Contact" mission. The unknown was where would the contact take place? The appearance of the Hinds answered that question......

The ranges that the US forces were engaging the enemy at proved to be so decisive that it literally became a turkey shoot (as evidenced by the bulk of the kill markers being 2000ms or more from the US positions) The enemy rarely had the opportunity to return fire.........

Only in Kalbe/Tiste/Sittensen did the enemy have a chance to engage, and it was there that the only serious threat ever developed.


Bootlegger

A simply outstanding AAR! Bravo to you sir! [&o]

Awesome AAR! Thanks for sharing it. [&o][&o][&o]