Spring thaw - Belisarius vs. JediMessiah

[Belisarius]

Oberscharführer Weissman rubbed his numb hands while taking a smoke. It was well into March, and nights were still chilly. But this was ofcourse nothing compared to the winter they had endured. He had lost two fingers to frostbite, but considered that a cheap trade.

As he descended the hill from where HQ had put up its post, he could almost smell it in the crisp spring morning. The air was not its usual calm at this time of night but tense, filled with anxiety. No fires were seen tonight, but he could see small dark shapes moving about on the plains. He cursed - they would be better off if it had been pitch black. He folded up the papers he had just recieved and walked toward the woods where his company was starting to prepare positions. They had just been detached from their SS division to support a Wehrmacht Panzerdivision and had arrived just days before. He smiled at the oppurtunity to show those guys who's best! They weren't many, but what they lacked in numbers they sure made up for in determination and skill.

All around him he could here engines warming up, from the soft purr of Kubelwagens to the restrained roar of Maybach V12's. They battalion had just received reinforcements from Army HQ. And what reinforcements they were! Weissman had never seen so many new tanks in one place. This operation they were about to undertake was no doubt important to the war effort. The thought comforted him, now they would push back the Bolsheviks once and for all!

______________________________

Setting: It's March 17, 1944. 1200 hours. We're playing on a large map, 10200 points with the "usual" preferences. I'm Germans, JediMissiah plays Soviets. It's flat terrain, with scattered woods and open plains througout. A series of small hills runs zigzag north to south, close to the Soviet deployment perimeter. There are also some hills, knolls and ridges further back that provide good overview. Vis 35! A railroad running east/west crosses a north/south road right in the middle, where also 5 VH's are located.

I'm not too comfy playing vs. the Russians in '44, I'm expecting more troops and heavy equipment than I can handle. Thus I have done some experimenting with my force, we'll see how it turns out..

Initial bombardment causes light casualties in the Soviet assembly area. No sight of the enemy.

Alas, for the best laid plans! My FO's have been reassigned! Argh. New ones are requested from HQ. :p

[Belisarius]

In Jedi's absence:

Soviet turn1 saw some recon elemements move forward, and some TD's moving beyond the setup line, scaring a squad of Grenadiers out of their HT.

German advance continues, recon elements report lots of Lend-Lease material; Jeeps and the inevitable Wolverines :rolleyes:, along with some tubes mounted in M3 Halftracks. (SU-57?) We advance making use of every cover we have.

SdKfz 251's are a fragile breed. 2 turns and I have 5 of them immobilized! NONE was moving over 10 mph.

A triggerhappy 88 crew fired away at a BA-10, scratching its paint. Oh well, at least they buttoned up ...

While waiting for the FO's to report in, our artillery is quite silent. The russian artillery is chasing rabbits and laid a, albeit completely ineffective, barrage all across the battlefield with 50, 82 and 120 mm mortars and 76.2mm IGs.

[Belisarius]

The one-side report continues.

Soviet recon elements surge forward and takes northern and central VH's, while German Panzers snag the south ones. Some russian bikers are scared off, along with a T-70 crew. (they had a 75mm shell land inside the turret..)

Spec Ops materialize just beyond the south hill and take a recon team prisoner!

Still mostly U.S. equipment, but we see some big monsters lurking in the woods to the north... So far we've knocked out jeeps and HT's, maybe we will soon taste big game.

The triggerhappy 88 crew murders a Ba-11 (pen 169 vs armor 7).

Heavy russian mortar fire fails to hit anything but dirt, german artillery is equally ineffective.

[JediMessiah]

*to belasraius* ive never posted a AAR/DAR, so im letting you post a few...ill start posting soon

[Belisarius]

Soviet turn saw many shootouts between recon elements. A daring MC squad wrecked a 37mm 251, and up north something BIG destroyed a 251/22 with two shots and annoyed a Tiger with a third. *klonk* :p

As expected, the south hill sees most action right now. Panzergrenadiers and Panthers move forward, while Wolverines with piggybacking squads and SU'57s race to the hillcrest. A Panther survives three hits from a TD and proceeds to destroy it. The platoon destroys another two Wolverines, while forward elements deal with TD's overlooking the south hill from 20 hexes to the north.

Halftracks drive right up under the noses of the somewhat shaken tank riding infantry and unload the grenadiers just below the crest of the south hill... Next turn will be very exciting...

Despite keeping eyes peeled, all sight of the monster tanks in the north is lost.

Although leading the score, we have still to kill our first tank, and we have still to lose our first tank...

[Belisarius]

Recon phase is almost over and combat ensues.

In our safari guide, we note;

Tigers go "klonk" when hit by an IS-2. :p
IS-2's go "klonk" when hit by a Tiger

Seems like both sides brought pachyderms to the party...

Frequent firefights, mostly HT's and SU-57's vs. lighter elements. Several commie MC squads and scouts are wiped out, some 251's are lost.
Tigers in the north shrug of direct hits and put three shells into the turret of an IS-2 to no effect Even a bold 251/22 takes on a IS-2 head on, good thing russians shoot like cr*p.

The south hill is seeing ever more fighting. Every unit foolish enough to climb the flat hilltop is swatted down by either side. We have both arrived just a little bit too late... Spec Ops reaches their assigned target just below the east slope and is immediately forced to change underwear. Oh my! And here I thought *I* had a force to pack a punch.

The constantly overambitious russian artillery catches up with us and forces the men (and tanks!) to take cover. An extremely lucky 50mm mortar disables a Panther , but the cat is avenged when heavy artillery pounds the crews just east of the soon to be infamous hill.

Keen-eyed observers also direct accurate 105mm fire into the enemy's back field. Many casualties. :p

[Belisarius]

The prescense of the tracked behemoths has slowed our advance.
While regrouping, a Panther crew forgets all about basic tank movements and exposes its side to an ATG on overwatch. Lesson learned. Stupid.

We continue to probe the now cratered and smoke-ridden landscape of the south end of the south hill. (ehe) Forward bolshevik recon elements are disposed of (M3, komsomolets and MC squad), while our brave Kübelwagen scouting ahead spots a Wolverine lurking in the mist...

Up north, the Tigers advance cautiously, with one exception. A commander spots an IS-2 on a hill some 20 hexes away and foolishly decides to open fire. The AP shell homes in and hit the IS-2 right in the kisser, just failing to penetrate (pen 134 vs. 136 armor ). The IS crew braces itself while shaking off the tankodetshnekis and lands a 122 mm on top of the Tiger turret. *kaboom*

The men are baffled by the abscense of russian arty fire, perhaps they're replotting. German artillery is takin their morning coffee and refuse to answer to any calls from HQ.

Thus endeth the turn.

Btw, since when does Panther G's get a poor quality armor modifier? :p

[Belisarius]

This turn didn't see much difference. Long-range duels in the north, both sides hit with heavy guns but fail to score damage. :p We picked off a few of those pesky SU-57's and possibly scared a crew.

A Russian lend-lease scout jeep probing the center ridge received the attention of 10 Tigers and an ATG. No hits, but he's darting east at top speed.

Enemy arty has resumed their firing, the lull was obviously due to a massive shift. Men on the Hill are trapped in the barrage and can move neither way. Russian elements trying to climb the Hill are dealt with likewise.

The lurking Wolverine is respotted by Kubelwagens and a "spähPanzer" (tank w/o main gun :p). A healthy Panther steps in line but fail to hit, while the Kubelwagen bravely sacrifices itself to throw the TD off aim.

Meanwhile, we have a winner in the First Enemy Tank Kill contest! Aaaand the award goes to.....an 82mm mortar crew, who accurately sent a grenade down the turret of a T-34 m.41 !! We hear a lot of frustration from the local Tiger company CP..

[Belisarius]

Things at the Hill are going, well, south :p
Two Panthers on overwatch are smashed by advancing T's, but they in turn are holed by long-range AT guns.

Up north, the Tiger crews are somewhat shaken of knowing that there are nasty things lurking in the woods across the field. Lead units spot a lone komsomolets, but are targeted by 122mm shells Komsomolets' don't have guns that big last time we checked the field manual!

South again, an approaching SturmHaubitze spots the lurking Wolverine through the smoke, and tames it with its' 105mm whip.
There's a SU-57 somewhere in that smoke, too.

Another Spec Ops squad infiltates the enemy back lot and avenges their fallen brothers by destroying a scout M3, taking its tankodetshneki riders prisoner! Agh, sweet revenge, although it may not last.

Artillery kills on both sides, including a Panther. That's 3 in one turn.

-- Generally, the battle is going somewhat according to what I planned. I grossly miscalculated the effort needed at the Hill and may have to reconsider the whole thing. Although hard pressed, we generally kill whatever steps into our sights. Problem is they are **** good at popping smoke, them Russians. :p
This is yet another battle playing vs. SO where I face a sh*tload of US equipment. Good thing it's almost as bad as the russian counterpart. Russian arty is methodically shifting its fire, but is unnervingly accurate on my tanks. I can't imagine him having an FO in LOS, considering the mayhem going on down there.

[Belisarius]

Jedi,

as I can't recall we made any agreements on AUX units, I have given you a few extra points by requesting more meat for the meatgrinder. :p

's OK?

[JediMessiah]

reinforcements?...no problem...i was just looking for more targets, hehe

[Belisarius]

Situation: status quo.

In the SO turn, we bagged us another T-34, otherwise nothing significant.

Spec Ops continue to harass the enemy rear, destroying yet another "skaut" and rifle squad, and is expected to perish in the following turn :p

Bold Russian scout teams faces just a tad too many MG 34's and are sent running home to Russia. We reclaim the northern VH's!

Troops around the Hill are in a sorry state. Consolidating the positions, while laying heavy artillery on the back slope. The lurking SU-57 fails to damage the Panthers, but kills a Kubelwagen.

[Belisarius]

The few surviving "scouts" (read: crews) sent out from the SO lines has magically reported back our positions to the Russian HQ. Shells are now falling all over the line, but fail to do damage :p

After getting punched in the face at the Hill we are consolidating our positions, so no major action versus the enemy is taken. He will be running soon enough anyway!

Some sneaky russian biker gangs retake the northern VH's and slaughters the Kubelwagen crew. Cruel. We chase them away for the moment by embedding cool-looking 20mm ornaments in their bikes A Tiger also desperately tries to pursuade a Jeep to eat an 88mm, but the Jeep was in no mood. He is now in "buttoned" status, how the h-ll is that supposed to work?

[Supervisor]

I can't bet against German armor.

[Belisarius]

The Männer in the company has renamed the Red Army the "Yellow Army" Show yourselves, cowards!

It's a strange lull in the fighting. Supplies of fresh coffee has just arrived and is passed among the ranks, a warm welcome in the chilly morning. Nothing else to do, is there a battle going on somewhere? :rolleyes:

The northern force, though, is trapped under a rolling barrage that moves in pace with them, so things are a bit under pressure up there.

We see 5 scout elements, we see 5 scout elements scatter like snowflakes in a blizzard.

[Belisarius]

So the counterattack has come. The Hill is just covered in enemy armor and troops, and my tanks won't even fire back!
I've had it up to here with German inability to see and spot ****.

3 Panthers and 1 Tiger lost in exchange for a puny wolverine. :rolleyes:

I'm hoping that the russian morale will turn out at it's worst. Every available tube is directed at the Hill, missing targets with the usual unnerving precision (hah!) of German Artillery. Well at least it's suppression. Please don't rally. :p

"The **** hath hiteth the fan..eth"

[Belisarius]

Wow. The Red push is surprisingly well coordinated, and although we throw potshots at the armored wall, we only manage to scare a singe 34/85 crew out of its tank.

German discipline wavers a bit and then breaks like an old woman's thighbone on an icy winter morning's walk - now it's every man, squad, MG and crew for himself. Those who doesn't make it back in time are consumed by the red anger. A lone surviving Panther crewman is REALLY legging it westwards..

Wish I could post a screenshot - the hill ain't large, but I can see at least 12 enemy tanks on MY side of it.

The rest of the combat zone sees sporadic fire exchange between Red recon elements and my dug-in troops. Or - we fire and they run away.. They are d*mn hard to hit while running...stop and you'll all get Vodka! Nice beautiful Helgas! Free trips to the exotic Baltic coast!

Arty wasn't much on either side. My tubes are reloading as fast as they can, and Jedi is obviously replotting to take care of a PAK he spotted. Hopefully this will make my "brave" SS stop cry for Mummy and start advancing...eventually.

I'm about to re-evalute my opinion on Panther armor - although around 80% of the force is gone, most tanks endured at least three direct hits from 85 and 120 mm shells before succumbing. Not bad. I'm losing to poor planning here, but the final word in this matter is not yet said. Heh! Come and get me, commie cowards!

[Belisarius]

The Armored Red wave rolls forward accompanied with lots of aiiie and aiiigh and uughh from my troops. :p IS-2's ain't easy to stop, hopefully the artillery will shake them around somewhat.

At the north VH cluster, a squad encounters a Russian scout convoy consisting of a jeep and several MC's. They are now dead.

Russians throw mortar shells videly around at just about everything they can see. Are they getting nervous? Unfortunately, a platoon of SS got too bold and lost 4 men who didn't remain in a prone position. One could expect such behaviour from Volksgrenadiers, but SS?

Finally, a squad in the south who was too surpressed to be rallied, finally fled Thankyou, kind Russian artillery!

[Belisarius]

More of the same. We reclaim 3 VH's in the North, and lose one in the south.. There's no stopping them down there, squads left behind are cut down to the last man. An immobilized 251 is finally put out of its misery. :p

Around the North VH area there's some success, as the enemy sends light units forward to guard the VH's..two MC squads are gone, the others will be soon heh heh... good for us, but that won't last for long..

In the far north, I send a 222 forward to spot a tank I know is lurking further away. 222 is instantly destroyed, crew can't see anything.

[Belisarius]

The Red Army Suicide Biker Team is joined by and SMG squad around the north VH's. Stalin must be proud. :p The VH's are firmly in our hands now, despite heavy artillery.

In the south, the situation is dire. Squads are seen running back towards the fallback line. An enemy halftrack has sneaked through our lines and has good overview, and-we-just-can't-nail-that-bastard. HTs are ridiculously hard to hit.

The enemy possesses a ridiculous amount of mortars, apparently we must have run close to a mortar regiment assembly area. Most grenades fall wide, but the SS troops up north is under severe pressure and I can't really call them a fighting unit anymore. :rolleyes: Meanwhile, the Sdkfz-7 quad AA crews apparently have mistaken mortar grenades for baseballs or something and promptly catches them on the flatbed on two instances. *kaboom*