Rise of the Free Rhine - Pixel vs Scharfshutze

[Capt. Pixel]

The forces of the First Free Rhine brigade are purchased and ready to deploy.

Scharfschutze and I are fighting near Hersfeld. The visibility is looonng (49).

There are four roads, two North-south and two East-west. The road net is pretty equally divided across the map.

North to south is a small river with a secondary tributary from the map center down to Scharfschutze side. Three bridges cross the river. Two are for the southernmost east-west road.

Three hill masses dominate the map center from my side of the map and the rivers.

Spotty forest dots the map in large clumps. The center is wide open. Forest and smoke probably won't provide a great deal of cover with the visibility this high.

(Since I can't figure out how to attach the game file inside this post, I'll try your other e-mail address. Can anyone tell me how attachments are accomplished inside a forum thread?)

[Scharfschütze]

The honorless traitors of the so-called "First Free Rhine Brigade" are to be shot on sight.

Any attempts to avoid engagements, fraternization or negotiations with these elements will lead to the most dire punishment.

The Führer has personally ordered that no prisoners shall be taken and an example to be executed as a warning to all others who have forgotten their oath to flag and Führer. Final victory is near!:rolleyes:

Oh well, whatever... posting file attachments is rather easy, below the "Your reply" field I am currently typing into there is and options section with several boxes that can be checked, and below this it reads "Attach file". click the Browse button, browse to the zip and then submit reply.


The map is ok, though I would have preferrred those creeks to run a little more towards the centre... alas my rear is more heavily forrested, maybe an incalculable advantage at Vis 59?

[Capt. Pixel]

Oh yeah, huh! Right there, where it says Attach Files, right? ::sheesh::

Anyway.

The Free Rhine forces have nearly ten extra hexes to travel from their startline to the nearest VH, as opposed to the German travel distance. My VHs aren't even inside my startline, and they're sitting out on a widely exposed hill top. The Germans have a nice little deep forest where their VHs are snuggeled behind their startline. Oh well. :rolleyes:

It's Raining. Everybody gets to move a little slower.

The steady hiss of the rain is punctuated by incoming 120 mortar fire on the northern road intersection. The German artillery pounded hard on that intersection. Further forward down the roads, our artillery responds.

Forward scouts, already in position, report, "One.. two.. no, THREE! three bridges down!". The road across the creek is cut at all three crossings by howitzer and mortar fire.

That ought to even-up the travel distance inequity.

[Scharfschütze]

You know that player 1 start line is always a little more to the rear to compensate for the first move? Thats what I thought...


Little contact yet. Seems everyone is carefully choosing advance routes to avoid being picked apart by long-range fire. I see a lot yet so little is to be seen

Capt. Pixel is trying counterbattery my 120mm mortars with... 120mm mortars! The shells are falling over a wide area, perhaps 60+ hexes is a little to far for accurate fire?;)

[Capt. Pixel]

Panthers and JagdTigers! Oh my!

IMHO the only thing worse than facing a JagdTiger, is having to drive one. :p

Hopefully, the rain will dissipate somewhat, and I can proceed to prove my point about big, slow, over-gunned behemoths being useless. :rolleyes:

On the distance issue; Those Panthers are 7 hexes from their nearest Center VHs. My nearest combat unit is over 20 hexes away. The VHs are in the center of the map. (Okay, a couple of hexes closer to Scharfschutzes side, but who' counting?)

Even with the bridges down, he's having no difficulty getting to the center quickly.

Good thing I bought extra kubelwagens.

[Scharfschütze]

Faithfull to our orders, we smashed the first traitor this turn: A Kübelwagen is turned into a flaming wreck by concentrated fire of my loyalist troops. The enemy seems to be holding back otherwise... counterbattery continues.

On the distance issue: Still 20 hexes away? You aren´t using big, slow, overgunned behemoths,are you?:D

I must say I reevaluated the Panther before this game. I admit I haven´t played Germany much lately, US and Soviets were my choice. As an opponent, I found the Panther... manageable.

But when I picked forces for this battle I began looking for a fast attack tank with good speed and a good gun... and this leads straight to the Panther. How far its armour will carry me, I am presumably about to find out!

Those Jagdtigers are of course meant for something completely different:D

[Capt. Pixel]

He killed a kubelwagen. Darn it.

But that little Kubelwagen sucked up enough Nazi lead to match it's own weight before it was finally capped by a Panther's 75 'Golden BB".

in the meantime, Free Rhine forces steadily advance through the rain. It's a long way to Tipparary and a long way to those VHs.

Recon reports a platoon of Panthers and a platoon of SS Mech Infantry are advancing in the southern sector along and below the south road. Artillery has been contacted and barrages commence. Also a Nazi JagdTiger is sitting back and surveying a large swath of countryside.

As Scharfschutze said, we can see a whole lot of terrain, but very few enemy forces. (And in SS' case - NO enemy units. Hah! ) (maybe I'm not even there, hmm?)

(BTW, I'm using the term 'Nazi' to differentiate the two combatants. It's not a political statement, nor is it intended to deride my gallant opponent )

[Capt. Pixel]

Your file, sir.

:: Attachment Deleted ::

[Scharfschütze]

Those ami-lackeys from the FFRB have stooped so low as to mimick their masters´tactics: Hide and shell... Know this, betrayers: We will find you in your little hidey-holes and smoke you out!:mad:

[Scharfschütze]

Originally posted by Capt. Pixel

(BTW, I'm using the term 'Nazi' to differentiate the two combatants. It's not a political statement, nor is it intended to deride my gallant opponent )

No offense taken! With Panthers shooting Kübelwagens we are heading for some confusion anyway;)

[Capt. Pixel]

The Nazis take the southern flags! We can't allow this to stand!

But my artillery seems to be taking a toll in supression if not kills. I can see two Nazi Panthers fully routed near the south road. That last pasting by Free Rhine 120mm mortars and 150mm OB had to hurt!

Right next to them, a Sdkfz 251/1 HT is blown to bits by a Free Rhine Sdkfz 251/22 at about 1000 meters.

The rain is really slowing my King Tigers to a crawl.

[Capt. Pixel]

I can't open this file without violating security (or some other young woman). So if you can't open it either, we're gonna have to go back a turn.

It should be a good file for you. ( I can't understand why there was a problem. Baffling)

Are you sure you unzipped that file I sent you?

[Scharfschütze]

Probably my mistake trying to access the file from the documents folder... it is running now.


Sgt. Schumacher´s Stoßtrupp carefully spied out of the well-concealed foxholes on top of a major hill in the northern sector. The rumble of tank treads was nearing, and Oberst Krogel had demanded reports of enemy activity in their sector.

They were already all around them! Lowly Volksgrenadiers had passed them, and below treachorous Fallschirmjaegers were advancing. Sgt. Schumacher had always thought that of all the elite formations, only the SS could be trusted.

A Hetzer tank-destroyer was advancing on the slope less than 50 meters below their position. "Ready the satchel charge!" he signalled his men soundlessly, his face turning grim with hate and loathing. Their position was hopeless, but they would take down as many of the traitors as possible!:mad:

The satchel charge hit the Hetzer squarely, cracking open its hull and forcing the surviving crew to bail out. Before the Stoßtruppmen had time to gun them down, a second Hetzer some 150m to the northwest opened up, and the attackers retreated eastwards and away from this threat. The found themselves in the middle of an advancing Volksgrenadier squad. The soldiers had turned around at the sound of the explosion, and were gawking awestruck at the SS men emerging from the smoke.

"Hände hoch! Surrender!" the VG sergeant croaked feebly.

"Tod den Verrätern! Death to the Traitors!" shouted Schumacher. His men opened up with their MP40´s before the Volksgrenadiers could react. In less than ten seconds, all were killed (Indeed destroyed after the first SMG fire!).

Popping smoke to their north, the Stoßtrupp prepared for the inevitable onslaught...

[Capt. Pixel]

'Poof' (the sound made by a kubelwagen when hit by a 128mm AP round )

That was the third Kubelwagen killed this round. The other two were killed by Panthers prowling near the southern VHs. Better them than my Hetzers!

The Sdkfz 251/22 that capped a halftrack last round, got a little to cocky. The Panther she popped off at took exception, took aim, and BINGO!, another Nazi kill. (I hate those Panthers)

Schumacher never made it further. Fire opened up on Hill 3210 with Halftracks and tanks firing 75mm HE to drive the Spec Ops off the hill. Overwhelming fire eventually eliminated Schumachers squad.

VG squads swarm the back area performing security. Where there's one infiltrator, there's bound to be more.

Apparently, Schumacher was able to relay information on the postion of a large number of my force before he died.

Nazi mortar fire peppered the, now evacuated, Hill 3210 to no effect. Further 120 and 75mm Offboard was targetted to the defilade side of a center map hill mass. Forewarned armor units had an opportunity to scramble off that hill and find to new ambush locations before the incoming barrage could strike.

[Scharfschütze]

Another Kübelwagen dies as it tries to flank loyalist postions in the north. A short burst from a recon teams´ SMG kills the driver as he is speeding along the treeline, causing the out of control car to smash into a firmly loyalist german oak.

With their recon elements curbed, the spineless rebels go into hiding again. Tentative mortar fire reveals that the evacuation of Hill 3210 is still in progress:p

[Capt. Pixel]

The Free Rhine scouts wiggeled over the hill top and cautiously waved the JagdPanther forward. One ran back to the Tank Destroyer and informed them of a single Nazi Panther sighted on a nearby ridge.

Slowly the JagdPanther crawled up over the rise, and spotted the Panther without drawing return fire. Amazing! With the first shot, the 88 woke up the Panther crew and busted the Main gun optics. The Panther's return shot was expectedly wide of the mark. The JagdPanther took one more shot and then sought out a new defilade position.

Moments later a Hetzer crossed the sites of the same Panther. The Panther attempted to fire, but only managed to disable it's own gun. The Hetzer took a couple of errant shots and scooted away. Immediately after, another JagdPanther popped the Panther's hull and scattered the Nazi crew. (That's like ninety kubelwagens! Heheh.)

Nazi 120 mortars are raining all up and down the front. I gather they're shooting blindly, judging by their barrage locations. But even a blind duck catches a water bug once in a while. Some casualties were reported from incoming mortar fire. Hill 3410 still seems to be a priority target for Nazi artillery. I counted six 120 mortars and one or two 75mm Offboard. This is gonna be tough to suffer through. :rolleyes:

It's still raining and my King Tigers are getting nowhere fast.

[Scharfschütze]

The Panthers´ 75L70 was obviously sabotaged by defeatist elements! Boy, you got lucky there... I saw the Jagdpanthers allright, and they wouldn´t have taken a side armour hit with a shrug. The Panther hadn´t moved last turn and that should have spelled you doom...


On a brighter side my "blind" shooting into the advancing Volksgrenadiere (aka "cannonfodder") and Fallschirmjäger caused at least half a dozen casualties when the 150mm heavy artillery joined the party.:p

A presumably "blind" MG42 machinegunned three more troops there in the south.

The FFRB has begun to pop 120mm mortar smoke in the direction where they believe the Jagdtigers are positioned. Perhaps the demise of my Panther has made them cocky?;)

[Capt. Pixel]

Really slow turn.

That MG42 raked another squad in the south.

Recon sighted a JagdPanther AUX coming down the northern road. Ah, C...!!

Nazi artillery pounds down on several of our many advances, a few men die, but many, many more forge ahead through the rain and barrage.

Hitler must Die!!

Free Rhine motto

[Scharfschütze]

A Jagdpanther AUX was sighted? Seems that two can play that game;)

Otherwise, a little MG fire and 120mm shelling all around. Another smoke screen pops up in front of the area where the enemy suspects our MG42. :rolleyes:

[Capt. Pixel]

A kubelwagen slowly grinds gears climbing a formerly safe hill, only to be disintegerated by a 128mm shell. I think the shell cost more than the kubelwagen. :p

If I could get these Free Rhine idiots to stop goose-stepping through EVERY puddle, we might get to the battle sometime. And the tasseled fez with their uniform is just too much. They're constantly falling off, tipping forward over their eyes, and really easy to see from a distance. :rolleyes: