Rise of the Free Rhine - Pixel vs Scharfshutze

[Scharfschütze]

On that southern road a Sturmtiger rumbles into firing position again. Across the creek and the collapsed bridge the SS were fighting advancing FFRB Fallschirmjäger again, and were under heavy pressure by an enemy Jagdpanther.

The 38cm rocket mortar shell arced westwards, crashing into the muddy road with predictable results: The road was obliterated, while the infantry in the woods suffered massive casualities once again. Another rocket was launched, sweeping the area clear.

A SdKfz. 222 moved forward, searching for a damaged enemy 75mmAT HT (SdKfz 251/22:rolleyes:?).
Which it found, together with a rather badly shaken Jagdpanther. At high speed, the scout car zipped around, avoiding the Jagdpanthers errant 88mm shells while spraying the 75PaK-armed halftrack.

Then a loyalist Panther G entered the scene, shooting on the move, hitting the FFRB Jagdpanther, which took the shell without a scratch. The Panther brakes, fires... and scores!:D

Further north, a MG has sighted an enemy Pz.IVj capturing VH´s along the central road. Firing from the Panzers side, the MG42 rattles the panzer´s crew, while a friendly Jagdpanther moves up. After two quick shots, the FFRB loses another tank.

Loyalist shells, from 75mm howitzers and 120mm mortars to 150mm heavy artillery are falling all over the FFRB lines. When will these poor souls realize that their american masters have sent them to their deaths as cannonfodder?
:rolleyes:

[Capt. Pixel]

"AAaaarrghhhh!!" (boom boom ka-boom boom)
"Aaiieeeee!" (Boom Boom ka-boom)
"Momma!" (chug chug chug chug BOOOM)

The cries from the front line advance are heart-rending, but we must press ever onward. The Nazis must surrender or die.

"Surrender, brothers. We have chocolate. We'll share."
"Betty Grable Rocks! She'll rock with you too."

the frightened little Nazi Panzerschrek hunkered down behind the center hill was spotted and eliminated. But an FFRB PzIV was lost to another hidden JagdPanther while trying to establish a fire position near the grassy knoll (59,24). Scharfschutze's long range fire has been devestating when I've given him the opportunities.

Another VH once again rests under the democratic control of the FFRB.

It's still raining. :p

[Scharfschütze]

My hardcores won´t be bribed with a few sweets;)

On the contrary, they have vowed to win these treats on the field of combat and take them from the POW´s once you have accepted my terms of surrender... :p

Intense fighting in all sectors. The FFRB loses even more FJ´s and seems on the verge of breaking. The enemy 150mm´s have kicked in again, but ours are also firing, and have nailed an enemy Jagdpanther with the luckiest of shots... a vulnerable location side armour hit with a Pen of 30 vs. 20 armour:D

Victory hexes are divided almost evenly, the FFRB controls the northern VH´s, the centrals are 3 FFRB vs. 2 loyalist (my Sturmtiger has just "discouraged" nearby infantry from advancing further:D) while the south is all under my control. A platoon of destroyed FFRB Pz.IVj´s litters the battlefield, two of their Jagdpanthers are scrap metal and their infantry has suffered staggering losses.

But they are still coming!!!

[Capt. Pixel]

Still fighting.

I had one unit who could see 6(!!) enemy units. I think that's the record so far for this game. Quite amazing, really, when you consider the visibility of 49. :rolleyes:

Another 251/22 got in a gun duel with a Nazi JagdPanther, with predictable results. (He had no choice, really!)

The exchange did manage to bleed the JP dry of shots. This gave the FFRB a chance to charge the Grassy Knoll with PzIVs and a Hetzer. The Hetzer flanked the Nazi JagdPanther and managed to miss twice. It cost him his ride to do so. (Darn! I was this close to bagging a JagdPanther.

The PzIVs were useful in driving off a Panzerschrek hiding in the trees. FFRB Fallschirmjaegers exchange fire with Nazi SS all up and down the line. It seems to be a fairly even exchange in infantry casualties over the last several turns

In taking the remaining center VHs, an FFRB 251/22 drew fire from a nearby Nazi SturmTiger. The 251/22 escaped unscathed, but a Nazi SS squad nearby wasn't so lucky. They're gone now.

FFRB now has 13 of the 21 VHs. But can we hold?

VG Bicycles are on the way!! Yeeha! (Whatever happened to those KoenigsTigers they promised?)

[Scharfschütze]

That FFRB Hetzer btw didn´t miss, it actually hit my Jagdpanther once and came within milimetres of penetrating its armour: Pen 142 vs armour 145:p


I tried to take out the two Pz-IVj´s lurking behind that small ridge whose crest is adorned by the flaming wreckage of said Hetzer (got shot in the side by SdKfz 222´s 20L55:D)and another Pz-IVj. Moving up a Sturmtiger from the south and taking the frantic opfire of the Panzers, I launched another 38cm mortar rocket, sprayed the tanks with MG´s afterwards and then moved up with said SdKfz 222, drew very little opfire this time :rolleyes:, fired some more, withdrew the scout car, moved up the vaunted Jagdpanther, levelled the 88, fired... and missed:mad:

Oh well, chances were only ~30%, but you gotta try;)

A little further to the north, my halftracks rained lead into assorted FFRB infantry trying to get a hold on the VH area, and drove back several squads.

Once again, FFRB and loyalist artillery is pounding the front lines, with no spectacular results.

And the VH count is now FFRB:11 Loyalists:10
:rolleyes: :p :rolleyes:

[Capt. Pixel]

The tide has turned against the FFRB.

Incessant bombardments, squishy, rain soaked ground, unbelievably long visibility in a rainstorm,shellholes by the thousands (thanks to SS :rolleyes: ), and a general mallaise among the troops isn't serving the First Free Rhine Brigade well, at all.

I'm drafting my regrets to Eisenhower and might post them all for you to see after I pull a low-point Draw out of this game. :p

Unless ......

Unless the crafty old Nazis decide to retreat to draw me in. Or, they run in fear of my Ice Cream Kubeltruks.

MUAHAHAhahahahaha heh heh eh eh .. heh

But I have this itchy feeling (where doesn't matter) that some of my troops are about to meet a JagdTiger up-close-and-personal, real soon.

Any future opponent of Scharfschutze would be well advised to agree on artillery points/percentage beforehand. I didn't, and I regret it. easily 90% of my infantry casualties have been from indirect fire.

(On the other hand, if I HAD bartered him down he probably would have just bought more Panthers and JagdTigers. :rolleyes: )

Here is your turn, sir. Enjoy your retreat this weekend.

[Scharfschütze]

I´ll take your comments as a compliment to my arty boys... you are being shelled by 8 120mm mortars, 8 75mm field howitzers and a single battery of 150mm offboard.

I haven´t checked it, but this should be less than 20%, the max arty percentage usually negotiated. :p

In the northern woods, halftrack-borne SS attack FFRB Fallschirmjäger with a vengeance: At least a platoon worth is wiped out, another is in full retreat. Supporting the charge, a Jagdpanther moves to engage one of the rattled Pz-IV´s and misses twice. The merciless mortar shelling does that one in later, and disables the suspension of its nearby collegue (boy I got lucky there )

All along the front, we exert heavy pressure on the enemy: Jagdtigers, Jagdpanthers, Sturmtigers, MG´s and SS are attacking in force, striking the FFRB´s wherever they are sighted. Meanwhile our artillery is firing from all available tubes, with good effect.

Let´s hope they don´t recover!:rolleyes:

[Capt. Pixel]

Oh it was a compliment alright.

Your artillery is merciless. (and you're well below 20%) But I should have wrangled you down to my personal preference of 10%. Nonetheless, you're commanding them imperiously.

Artillery in that concentration sure does slow down your opponent. Not that I needed more slowing down, as you'll see when I post my OOB. (my other mistake) :rolleyes:

The only entertainment provided this turn was a dash born of desperation by an FFRB PzIV for the center VHs. Got 'em all (and a Nazi SS squad) but I'll likely lose them again after Scharfschutze moves.

Turn 20 will probably be a repeat of the last two turns, where I lose 10-15% of my force to the Nazi juggernaut. Aargh!

The battle goes to Scharfschutze, but I'd like to finish it out.

@%$% rain!

[Scharfschütze]

Fierce battles rage throuhout the northern woods, at least when there is a brief lull in both sides artillery fire on this hotspot. We are driving the FFRB back, but not far enough for my taste...

A SdKfz 222 finds out just where to shoot a PzIV to destroy it with a 20L55... in the sides and rear of course!

Meanwhile a Panther moves into position to take potshots at the PzIV that had gone for the central VH´s. On the way there the PAnther spots a retreating 75mmPak40 SdKfz, and disables the AT-halftracks gun with a lucky shot at long range, rolls on and starts ranging in on the PzIV.

This is almost over, and victory seems in my grasp. I´ll just have to weather that inevitable yet desperate FFRB counterattack that will surely come in the final turn. If things run well, we will all know why the FFRB didn´t make it into the history books:D

[Capt. Pixel]

And that's the First Free Rhine Brigade - nearly finished.

Well it's all over except ......

(Scharfschutze, if you'll please wheel the Fat Lady with the viking helmet and hubcap brassier to stage front. Her aria should begin soon)

Well sir, we doff our fez to you. Your Nazis are truly remarkable soldiers and well led. Here's your chocolates.

Although I'm not satisfied with the loss, I'm satisifed with having been able to hold Ss and his nasty big tanks at bay for 20 turns. That was no mean feat, in and of itself.

This was one of those truly memorable games. And we all know how few they can be. Rather than the typical 'one side prevails and wins in 8 turns' game, this was a bit of a see-saw right up to the end. If only I'd had more artileery and less rain. ::sigh::

Great game Scharfschutze. I'd like to tangle with you again someday. Maybe after you win the World Cup.

Good luck, and don't forget to post your OOB - inquiring minds gotta know.

[Scharfschütze]

While the remnants of the First Free Rhine Brigade are marching towards their POW camps, an impromptu orchestra is playing Wagner, and some of the the exhausted Fallschirmjäger believe that they hear a very large soprano performing an aria standing on top of a Jagdtiger that has ascended the cental hill.

The FFRB is shattered, one more Pz-IV and another Jagdpanther destroyed, a second under heavy assault by infantry and a Panzerschreck.

With the enemy Panzers knocked out, halftracks and armoured cars run rampant among the fleeing FFRB, machinegunning scores of soldiers.

This has been a very hardfought battle, with a lot of suspense until the very end. All of my troops played their part in this victory, special mention has to be made of my heavy mortars, which caused atrocious losses to the attacking FFRB (hell I even knocked out at least three tanks with arty!)and delayed them in several critical situations. The Jagdtigers were the menace that kept Capt. Pixel from moving his Panzers freely in the central and northern sectorsm while my Panthers did all the hard work and suffered accordingly.

Of the infantry, the SS platoon holding the southern VH´s deserves the highest praise. Suffering some 70% casualties, they held out against concentrated artillery fire and repeated attacks. Only in the last two turns I was able to relieve them with another platoon and two AT teams.

Then, of course, there where the Sturmtigers. Their rocket mortars mauled several FFRB infantry assaults and provided invaluable killing power where needed, when needed.

Lastly, my 18 halftracks enabled me to get my troops where I needed them very fast, relocate mortars and 105mm RCL guns, and in the endfight routed the FFRB troops.

The stats:

FFRB :2650 points,marginal defeat
Germany:7588 points,marginal victory

Losses
FFRB:Germany

Men : 559:135
Arty: 0:1
Soft: 6:1
APC : 0:2
AFV : 20:5 (I wonder what is counted as an AFV)

Though this may look like an easy victory, it wasn´t. The FFRB took the most decisive losses in the last quarter of the battle, especially the PzIV´s in the centre and the numerous infantrymen killed by HT´s and mortar fire.

My troops:

1 HQ
1 FO
2 Heavy Mortar Btys á 4 120mm mortars
2 75mm FH Btys á 4
2 Ammo Dumps
2 Panther G sections
1 Jagdtiger section
3 105mm RCL sections
2 SS HMG MG42 sections
1 SS Rifle Company w/o mortars
2 SS Rifle Platoons
4 HT platoon á 4
3 Panzerschreck AT á 3
7 Recon teams

Reinforcements:

1 150mm Bty
1 Sturmtiger section á 2
1 Armoured car section á 5
1 Jagdpanther section
1 HT section
1 Sniper
1 Kübelwagen


My password was f.a.u.s.t

Well, Capt. Pixel, I´m open for a game anytime. Maybe in clear weather?;)

I do hope that there is something of a relegation round where those defeated in the first round get a chance to qualify for later rounds. I´m sure there are a great many excellent players that have been knocked out, and you Sir are one of them.

If you post your password, I´ll take some screenshots of the final postions. Or feel free to do so yourself!

[Capt. Pixel]

Well we're kinda happy to be marching to the POW camp. In this rain, the war will be over before we get there.

Wow! That Broad can really belt a tune out. She's not as good as Ethel Merman tho'.

FFRB Password: war

FFRB OOB:

1 HQ
1 FO
1 Command Post
(This really helped keep the men moving underneath that arty barrage. They played Sousa marches over the loudspeaker, but Wagner might have been more effective.)

1 150mm Bty OBA (contacted about 50% of the time)
4 120mm Heavy Mortars (I was so outclassed in artillery. )

3 VG Bicycle plt (rear area security - never got to use them)
4 Engineer plt w/ MG34
6 Fallschirmjaeger plt w/ MG34 (and Pzf 60s)
6 VG SMG plt (read: 'cannonfodder')

2 Sdkfz 251/22 @ 3 each (HT with 75mm Gun)
2 Hetzer sec @ 2 each (these were pretty worthless overall)
4 Pz IVj sec @ 2 each

2 Spec Ops plt @ 3 each (only 3 showed up, and they were all dispatched within one turn)

6 Kubelwagen (the pride of the FFRB, and all dead)

FFRB Reinforcements:

2 Ammo Trucks (for reloading the mortars)
2 Opel Trucks (for moving the mortars)
2 JagdPanther sec @ 2 each (for scaring the JagdTigers)
2 Recon Teams (four guys with binoculars)

Ss' is right. The score certainly doesn't tell the story. Most of the FFRB losses were suffered in the last 5 or 6 turns of the game. And probably half in the last two or three turns.

Although the Nazi armor got their share of kills, the lion's share (~65%+) of the damage was done by Ss' artillery (particulary against my infantry) And on is very last turn he killed nearly another 120 men!!

As I said before, this was one of those few, truly memorable games (at least for me). Keeping my forces out of harm's way while trudging towards their objectives was VERY challenging.

Ss didn't mention it, but the FFRB opening barrage dropping all the critical bridges must have been a disheartening start for the Nazis.

Mistakes made by Capt. Pixel:

FFRB force was infantry heavy.
The long visibility (49) coupled with first player's startline setback and RAIN (bloody rain) and, of course, massive artillery kept my infantry forces from ever getting any nearer than 100-200m from the center objectives. (They only got that close in the last two turns). However, I'm amazed that I managed to get them that close to the VHs at all!

The FFRB reinforcements were originally to include more artillery support. But when I saw the JagdTigers on the far hills, armor seemed more important. The JagdPanthers did well, but another 500-600 points of artillery might have proved more effective overall. :rolleyes:

Rather than pressing the advance in the southern forest, I should have held there and pressed the center (maybe, who knows). But the southern advance was a bloodied disaster. Nazi artillery destroyed 3/4 of what I was trying to push through that forest.

GE Spec Ops and the Hetzers proved to be a waste of points, in the final analysis. They mostly provided targets or didn't bother to show up. :rolleyes: I could have purchase a BUNCH of Kubelwagens for the cost of those units.

What I felt worked well:
Despite heavy artillery, I managed to rally and move most units every turn. This was due, in large part, to the presence of the Command Tent. (and Ethel Merman signing "I will Survive")

I went to great lengths not to let Ss know where my units were. Camoflaging the movements of an entire brigade in half-map visiblity was challenging, but I felt the results were superb. One means of accomplishing this was to purchase lots of leg infantry. They're very hard to spot and keep tabs on, even in long visibility.

One item that's not displayed (?) at the end game was the presence of game-layed mines all over my backfield. I counted some thirty mines in two dozen hexes marking various approaches to my rear VHs.

One last whine:

I had all the terrain and pre-postioning accounted for. But when we opened the battle and found it raining heavily, my timing went right into the toilet. Lack of mobility really hurt me here. Ss was kind enough to reduce my squad sizes so they could ride on my tanks when they weren't supressed. Thanks Ss.

I also wished I hadn't mentioned the disparity in Nat'l Characteristics giving me a decided advantage in artillery access. But that wouldn't have been fair.

FFRB MVP: JagdPanthers (only because nobody else did much of anything)

Nazi MVP: Artillery (this was the deciding factor all along the front)

All-in-all, a great battle! Thanks again Scharfschutze.

ps. Sharfschutze, could you please post screen shots. I don't have the utility to do that. I'd suggest the southern VHs and my side of the forest and the center VHs would be good shots.

[Scharfschütze]

A memorable game indeed. I truly look forward to fighting you again!

I didn´t find the rain all that impeding. Even with the bridges down, my Panthers and the two infantry platoons with added Panzerschrecks in HT´s I had launched at the southern objective made it to their designation points with ease. I didn´t expect them to be able to when I saw the bridges tumble, but it proved to be no problem.

A great asset was the artillery "golden" spot I had placed in the woods just 200 or so meters west of the southern objective, which enabled me to bring in fires on spotted enemy units with a 0.2 or even a 0.1 delay, absolutely lovely when the 150mm was available, and exactly what caused another dozen or so dead in the final barrage. Contact was good throughout the battle, with an availbilty of maybe 60-70%.

[Scharfschütze]

Another hypersnap. It´s free, it´s easy, everyone should have one...