Matrix Games Forums

Things are heating up

Things are going well

Continuing to mop up.

Air support is very nice

The Soviets push back

Another counter attack...

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

Good Hunting.

MR

"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.

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!

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.

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.

A simply superb AAR! [&o]

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