Group Tigers on the Hunt (Test Campaign)- Official Information and AAR Thread

[UP844]

... and it has been a wise idea [;)].

[DoubleDeuce]

Well, as long as you clear your assigned route there is little chance of any tank attack. [;)]

[UP844]

Sure: the damn beast is not attacking at all: it is sitting on a crossroads. Armoured cars (at least two, and I heard some more) are attacking [:D].

But... "I have not yet begun to fight!" [:D]

[UP844]

I hope there is not a KV-2 right around the corner...



Should I take the ID of the units involved for campaign game purposes?

IA target selection has been helpful: I attacked the KV over 2 turns (in the first turn, with 2 squads that didn't pass their PAATC, in the second with 4 squads), and the KV often did not fire on the adjacent squads, preferring other targets.

[UP844]

From: CO, 3./II./233 IR
To: Bn HQ II./233

After Action Report for Mission 2.

Surviving forces:

Leaders:
1 x B* + 1 x C

Squads
3 x Elite squads (*) + 1 x 1st Line squad + 2 x 1st Line HS + 1 x FJ HS (*) + 2 x Crew

(*) I do not remember if the FJ HS is an Elite squad CR'ed and failing ELR check, or if it is a 1st Line squad Battle Hardened. If the first case is true, two 1st line squads have BH'ed to Elite, otherwise only one.

Unpossessed weapons at scenario end: 1 LMG

Own losses: 1 leader, 3 squads casualty reduced

Enemy losses: 1xKV-1, 1xBA-6, 3-4 squads, 2-3 leaders

The KV-1 has been very a tough nut to crack; the BA-6 have been a great nuisance, but three of them exited from hex [14,32]. No VP are listed for exiting AFVs, so I am not certain if this was supposed to happen or not (I had not missed them, anyway [:D]). The fire from the remaining two BA-6 convinced me to settle for a Minor Victory, rather than risking further losses to my already depleted company.

A more detailed AAR will follow (tomorrow).

[DoubleDeuce]

That KV was rolled using the standard enemy generation chart. It fit into the scenario perfectly. I love the SASL system! The BA-6 were part of a convoy. Enter one board edge and exit another board edge. No points for either side, just a distraction due to the 'vehicle noises' unless they were interrupted in their move or had a few start failures and couldn't move off the board before you got closer to them.

[UP844]

3rd Company - Mission #2 - Attack Plan:

The company took a beating in the last mission and lacks about 1/3 of its established strength. A cautious approach is advisable, and I seriously doubt a Major Victory could be achieved: there are six Russian entry hexes and not keeping some rear garrison might mean losing any previously conquered road hex, especially if some fast vehicles (BT tanks or armoured cars) show up in the rear.

Group A: (1 platoon + 2 LMG + B* leader) will advance under cover of woods and orchards, then attack the fortified building in [10,9] from the North

Group B: (2 x Lt Mortars + 1 MMG) will take position on the hills and provide fire support for Group A and Group D when they will attack the fortified building and then the crossroads

Group C: (2 elite squads) will provide reconnaissance for Groups A and D; their higher morale should make them a bit less vulnerable to enemy fire. They have a C leader for mobility and rally purposes.

Group D: (1 platoon + C* leader) will advance under cover of grain fields, then attack the fortified building in [10,9] from the south and continue to the woods at the crossroads.

The two ATR HS will move behind the other groups and engage AFVs, if any are present. Until then, they will keep watch for enemy units approaching any German-controlled road hexes.

Once the fortified building and the crossroads are taken, Group "B" will advance and support groups A and D, which will attempt to advance as far as possible. Group "C" and the ATRs will remain near the fortified building as a reserve/reaction force.

[DoubleDeuce]

So far you guys are 3 for 3 with victories, guess it's time to put the hammer down . . . or find a better rolling set of dice when generating the SASL missions. [8D]

[UP844]

For once, things went more or less according to the plan [;)]

Turn 1:
Elite squads move to recon; they find a lone SMG squad (no problem) and what must be the biggest Panzer on Earth sitting on the crossroads. We'll see how good my infantry is at CC.

Turn 2:
Groups A, C and D proceed as planned, with group D taking a longer path to use the wood as cover.
ATRs take position in the wood NW of the KV. I doubt they can harm it, but maybe they will be able to immobilise it (or, at least, to distract it from my infantry approaching).
Group B moves over the hill and is greeted by a Russian HMG firing from the village at the second crossroad.
A Russian armored car appears on the main road I am supposed to take.

Turn 3:
Fine, more Russian armored cars coming from the East. I see four of them, but from the sound of engines there is at least another one. ATR should be able to deal with them, provided I kill the tank quickly. Anyway, I will have to leave a rear guard to prevent them to retake the road hexes I already control.
Group D eliminates the lone SMG squad in [9,13] and proceeds to attack the tank from the south.
Mortars fire on the Russian HMG, with little effect.

Turn 4:
The armored cars are approaching. There are six of them, so I must kill the tank (which has alread CR'd a couple squads and wounded a C* leader) as soon as possible. An elite infantry and a 1st Line infantry with a B* leader both fail their PAATC and remain close to the beast.
Mortars continue laying suppressive fire on the HMG, but they only manage to pin its squad.
The wounded leader arrives at the buildings near the start line where the broken HSs have routed.
During the Russian Defensive Fire the AI decides my lone MMG 4 hexes away is a greater threat than the two adjacent squads and fires everything at the poor crew, without effect.


Turn 5:
The C* leader is eliminated while he is attempting to rally two half-squads.
Four squads and the two remaining leaders attack the KV-1 (a Human Wave, German style) and manage to kill it.
Another squad kills the Russian squad in the wood just north of the road.

Turn 6:
The SMG squad holding the fortified building panics as an elite squad arrives in the adjacent hex, breaks and routs away.
One of the mortar crews is eliminated by the Russian HMG.

Turn 7:
German infantry exchanges fire with the HMG, while the MMG and the ATRs advance. Armored cars turn south, firing with little effect as they pass by.

Turn 8:
The B* leader goes back to rally the three broken HS. The Russian armored cars continue moving southward and one of them exits the map (even if this does not provide VP to the Russian).
A lone Russian squad - perhaps the one that was holding the fortified building - tries to advance from the orchard, but it is wiped out by the MGs. One of the BAs continues firing on the infantry in the fortified building with no effect. Unfortunately, it also prevents me from advancing further down the road. Other armored cars on the hills in the south fire at long range, with little effect (a couple pinned units)

Turn 9:
Two broken HS are rallied, the leader goes north to rally the last one.
Infantry fire breaks the Russian squad manning the HMG, but as long as the armoured car is there I don't dare advancing in open ground, risking further losses.

Turn 10:
An ATR immobilises the lone BA-6 that is blocking my advance. A HS recovers the abandoned Lt Mortar.

Turn 11:
A well placed ATR shot destroys the BA-6; a couple infantry squads dash forward to take more road hexes and to occupy the building where the HMG lies abandoned, before the Russians come back. Most of my force will remain in a central position, ready to react to a possible Russian counterattack. Two HS (one of them with a Lt Mtr) keep watch on the western part of the road, just in case.

Turn 12:
The advancing squads are harassed by long range fire from the BA-6s on the south hill;one of the squads is broken but the other gains control of several road hexes.
I currently have 23 VP; a Minor Victory requires 25 VP, a Major 33. I think I will go for a Minor and call it a day. I am still worrying about a possible Russian force coming out from the woods in the south, and who knows what I might find going further down the main road.
Two other armoured cars exit from the south edge of the map: I'm not going to miss them.

Turn 13:
The forward detachment advances and loses one squad, eliminated by fire from two Russian 1st line squads in [23,3]. The other squad takes control of the two VP I need for a minor victory and takes position out of sight from the Russians, but with a good field of fire should they decide to advance.

Turn 14 & 15:
Nothing happens.

The scenario was not exactly a milk run (the KV-1 could have been much more devastating), but the first one was far worse. The losses incurred in Mission #1 prevented me from advancing further and getting a Major Victory. Perhaps I have been a bit too worried about the Russian armoured cars (but if they began to take VP hexes in my rear they could have taken a lot of them in a single turn) and Russian infantry counterattacks (but I had no idea about what could be hidden in the southern portion of the map).

A couple remarks:
I had a routing squad interdicted by the BU KV. Is this a AI-only feature? I was not allowed to interdict with BU AFVs.
Maybe it is a string of unlikely die rolls, but variable end scenarios always seem to last until the last possible turn: Mission #1 lasted until turn 16 and Mission #2 until turn 15. This also happened in the playtest sessions of my scenario in progress, which should last 11 to 16 turns, but always ends on turn 16.

[DoubleDeuce]

The BA-6's were SASL Random Event Convoys. They were to enter the map from the eastern edge and then head towards one of the designated Exit hexes. I added multiple exit hexes to keep you guessing which way the might be headed. They were mainly supposed to drive across the center/eastern parts of the map and exit with very little firing on your troops unless you interrupted their movement. The AI seemed to follow my plan pretty well.

[UP844]

In fact, I was so puzzled (and worried) about the BA-6s I didn't push forward as far as I could have.

I am going to open the scenario in the Editor, but how did you manage to have the BA exit without giving the Russian VPs?

I am also wondering why the Russian did not counterattack at all. Is such attitude depending on the fact that it still has 23 VP and the game is still a Draw for the Russian side? Are counterattacks triggered when a side score goes below the "Minor defeat" threshold?

[DoubleDeuce]

ORIGINAL: UP844
I am going to open the scenario in the Editor, but how did you manage to have the BA exit without giving the Russian VPs?

I gave them 0 VP value for exiting. I set them to DEFEND the Exit Hex I designated for each convoy so they would go towards it right away and then once they entered that hex, they would exit. Seemed to work well. The vehicle sounds are great since you know there is something out there but can't see them. Really adds to the fog of war immersion.

ORIGINAL: UP844
I am also wondering why the Russian did not counterattack at all. Is such attitude depending on the fact that it still has 23 VP and the game is still a Draw for the Russian side? Are counterattacks triggered when a side score goes below the "Minor defeat" threshold?

Can't say for sure. I know the Russians had the HOLD order overall but don't remember if I gave them extra DEFEND HEX orders for the road junctions they were deployed near or not. Not sure how the counterattacks work as far as when the AI reacts.

[Peter Fisla]

Exit Hexes, they don't need VPs...the AI knows what they are for. All you then need to do is add VPs to the AI units so that when they exit the AI gets points.

One other thing, Double Deuce; you understand how the AI Special Command works in the game ? (Page 46 of the manual).

[okiefire1]

Another quality AAR, UP844! Again, I don't have much. I had a LOT of woods for cover and my two ATRs knocked out a couple of the small AFV before breaking. I was able to secure all but two hexes of the road, I think (they were in open hexes in LOS of two more AFV), but was able to eliminate the infantry and stay out of sight of any remaining AFV for the most part. You are certainly having a harder go of it, thus far, than I have. Keep it up! [:)]

[UP844]

Well done: that's 4 victories out of 4 engagements!

I wonder (and I am a little afraid of) what Double Deuce's devious mind will work out for the final scenario [:D].

[DoubleDeuce]

ORIGINAL: Peter Fisla

One other thing, Double Deuce; you understand how the AI Special Command works in the game ? (Page 46 of the manual).

Kind of. Still reading through everything.

[DoubleDeuce]

ORIGINAL: UP844

I wonder (and I am a little afraid of) what Double Deuce's devious mind will work out for the final scenario [:D].

You guys may have done this well because the game is still new to everyone and I thought the first run through should be played on the 'NORMAL' setting where, iirc, the OOC stuff is not in effect and I didn't want to discourage anyone right off the start.

Regular SASL has both sides affected but Panic (OOC) so the next and future games will use either HARD or VERY HARD, probably just HARD since that would be the closest SASL equivalent.

[okiefire1]

Regular SASL has both sides affected but Panic (OOC) so the next and future games will use either HARD or VERY HARD, probably just HARD since that would be the closest SASL equivalent.

Agreed. Hard would be most like SASL. But I did have a LOT of cover in my last mission. [8D]

[DoubleDeuce]

ORIGINAL: okiefire_ssl

Hard would be most like SASL. But I did have a LOT of cover in my last mission. [8D]

I rolled really bad on your Activation checks, hardly any units got triggered but they did get some artillery iirc.

[UP844]

ORIGINAL: Double Deuce
I didn't want to discourage anyone right off the start.

I was thinking about suggesting a Battle of the Bulge setting for the next campaign, then I had a vision of a Buchholz Station variant with SS squads, a dozen Panthers and some King Tigers [;)]