PBEM WC, August, 1944, Scharfschutze (Germany) v rbrunsman (US)

[rbrunsman]

PBEM WC Round 2 begins:

rbrunsman jumps ship from the Nationalist Spain army to join the American fight against Germany. Unfortunately, we have clear skies and mostly open terrain with visibility of 34.

The Americans are very nervous about the lay of the land. So in the opening barrage, I take a page from my previous worthy opponent, Curieus, and I smoke every **** hill I can see. I hope to reduce visibility to a respectable distance (say, around 6).

What will the Germans do with the loss of all those prime overwatch positions? ...

[rbrunsman]

Recon's report: "THEY HAVE PANTHER Gs!!! ALL IS LOST!...."

After a few slaps to the head, ala Patton, the unit calmed down and I determined from them that the Panthers were seen far, far away to the north. The recon unit had merely been alarmed that the Panther actually took a shot at him. It missed of course, but I do have to come up with a plan to take out those tanks.

Now, if my opponent will only cooperate....

[rbrunsman]

All units report in: Not one single German to be seen on the battlefield. Where did they go?

I know they are out there and I know they are moving around, but I just don't see them any more. New stealth technology that the Allies are unaware of perhaps.

With visibility of 34 one would expect more than one shot to be fired in the first couple of turns.

Lars, what are you up to?

[Scharfschütze]

Thanks to the generous amounts of smoke provided by our american adversaries, my Kampfgruppe advances under full cover. Only a few select troops peek out of the rolling clouds, and direct tentative fire at enemy speartips.

Panthers have become a must-have for me. I feel that they suit my style :p

[Rokondo]

rbrunsman just you to know that I think Scharfschutze will kick your ***

I want Scharfschutze in the Final (Like Rocky movie)

[rbrunsman]

That does it Rokondo!:mad: You're on my list. Expect a challenge towards the end of September after I get back from vacation.

[Scharfschütze]

Hey Rokondo, see you in the finals!:D :rolleyes: :p :rolleyes:

[rbrunsman]

OK, Scharfschutze you're on my list too! Wait a minute, I'm already playing you. Boy, are you in for it now! I shall sweep your forces from the board! No mercy!

... Now if I can only figure out how to out gun those Panther Gs. Maybe if I close my eye and wish really hard, they will sufffer a breakdown.:rolleyes:

[Scharfschütze]

The Americans are nowhere to be seen. Seems they have soiled their pants when they realized that this is going to get ugly soon:p

A few skirmishes with my infiltrators shows that the enemy is holding back. The amount and type of the rearguard shows indicates that the Amis were expecting... an airdrop maybe?;)

[rbrunsman]

You'd soil you pants too, if you and your buddy are standing on a hilltop as you watch your friend in the valley below take several shots from a Late model Tiger! Just when the two of you are congratulating yourselves for not being the unlucky bastard sent out to have to recon down there, up from behind a close-by hill pops a SturmTiger and he starts shooting at you!:eek:

We now have confirmed Panther Gs, Tigers and SturmTigers!!:(

The good news is that the poor unfortunate infiltrator who appeared first has been eliminated. We shall await his friends.

[I think Scharfschutze played his turn and posted before I posted this. I think I will be posting again before he does.]

[rbrunsman]

Well, well, well... The Americans are feeling pretty full of themselves right about now. Scouts report that German AUX troops have been spotted! It seems the very notion of having to face the awesome power of the American army causes the Germans to cry for reinforcements as the battle just begins.

This turn was a repeat of the last one. German Spec Ops troops arrive and get dispatched, but at what price? I lost an M3 Recon Jeep and the Germans gain valuable intel on my troop dispostions. (I wish my Spec Ops troops arrived so soon: the first on turn 3 and again on turn 4.)

In the front my recon takes fire from a Tiger and a Panther G. I lost an M20 to one of them. I also spotted a SturmTiger and foolishly tried to engage it. No losses, but that thing sure scared me as it took 2 Op Fire shots at my tank. The AUX recon patrols that were spotted have been eliminated and the HT that was transporting them has been immobilized. And, one SS squad was sent running home to Momma.

At the end of my turn German 81mm SPA shells rain all over the place.

[Scharfschütze]

Contact has been made with more enemy bazooka teams. We know where they are and are coming to get them!

The Americans are holding back, knowing full well that facing the mighty Tigers and Panthers in open combat would be suicide. How much smoke do you have, Ami-Boys? Not enough, I´d say!

A few scouts can easily be replaced. We have our orders, and they demand that these hills to be taken in 30 minutes and all opposition crushed beneath our tracks. High command won´t be disappointed when we are finished here. We have the means and we have the will...etc. (continues for some 15 minutes)
:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[rbrunsman]

Originally posted by Scharfschütze
The Americans are holding back, knowing full well that facing the mighty Tigers and Panthers in open combat would be suicide.

Lars, you forgot to say suicide for which opponent.

Of the 4 Panthers I could see, I eliminated 2 of them. And, of the 2 Tigers on overwatch far to your rear, well, HEAT does not care much about what the range is... Scratch 2 "mighty" Tigers from the German forces.

I believe I got a fair exchange for these 4 tanks, it only cost me several M3 Recons and I believe I have taken out almost 20% of the German force points (4000 total).

The German HTs and arty are proving to be much more difficult to handle than the tanks are to this point. Panthers don't seem to like bazooka fire but the HTs just seem to shrug them off without a scratch.

[Scharfschütze]

Quite a blow to lose so many valuable tanks. When I first peeked into the game yesterday (No time for a proper turn then) I thought "Oh, wow, got a little bold there again". After watching the playback, it wasn´t all that bad. The 105mm HEAT rounds from the CS Shermans that nailed the Tiger were very lucky hits, while the Panthers had indeed held audacious positions. Still, the highest Bazooka to hit% was 20 percent, rather shabby. With a little more luck, I´d only have lost one out of four tanks...

Alas, four are burning!:mad:

We scrapped two M16 SPAA´s, damaged another, shot a M4 105 :p and slew some infantry. Also, our artillery is hailing known enemy positions. All is not lost yet... I hope!:rolleyes:

[rbrunsman]

As for that M4 105mm CS tank, I can't believe I left him exposed. I used his smoke discharger at the end of my turn and then failed to verify that he was properly screened. It seems the weather is so clear in this battle that it takes double smoke to actually block LOS. Oh well, live (or not) and learn.

In my turn I chipped way at the holdings of the German HTs & infantry in the woods on top of the center VHs. I torched 2 HTs and sent a couple infantry squads running.

The northern VHs are about 150 hundred yards from the center VHs and straddle a low ridge. There, I believe the Germans are in strength on the other side of the ridge from my units. We battle it out each turn, first one side taking the ridge then the other pushing him off.

The southern VHs seem to have been conceded to my men.

The SturmTigers are quite annoying. Losing half a squad in one shot is not fun.

Regarding luck: Lars, haven't you heard of the intense AT training the US CS tank crews go through? They don't get to leave tank school until they can hit stationary Tigers at several hundred yards 2/3 of the time, which is precisely what that (now dead) CS tank did. :rolleyes: Yes, I would say he was lucky until that Panther popped up from behind the hills...

[Scharfschütze]

We crippled another M4 105, while a lucky mortar round blew up a M16 I had furiously attacked to no avail the previous turn.

We have introduced a secret weapon into the game, and are confident that it will scare the hell out of the yankees. I´m expecting another "all is lost" soon:D :p

[rbrunsman]

Secret weapon = OWLS!!:eek:

So much for all that smoke I've been blowing.:rolleyes:

I haven't actually seen it yet because he's hiding behind a smoke cloud, but I know he's there. Oh well, he can snipe at me from a distance, but I dare him to come into the woods and play. :p

I hope this expensive new toy of the German's came as a reinforcement. At least that way I'll get victory points for the purchase even if I never see the the little bastard.

Now I know how the German's felt at Stalingrad when Zaitsev was capping them at 500m. You're dead and you never even see where it came from.

I immobilized a SturmTiger that decided to come a little too close, killed a couple MG Kugelwagens and I made several HTs run for momma without even firing a shot at them. Me likes .50cal MGs!:D

[Scharfschütze]

My sincere apologies for fielding the Uhus in this battle. I am currently playing two other battles in the same timeframe, 8/44, one as U.S. and one as Germany.

In the U.S. game we have a visibility of 49, it is a nice, clear day and my opponent fields at least three, possibly four or five platoons of Panther G Uhus. Two platoons hang back at maximum range behind smoke clouds, sniping at everything that moves in my backyard, while the rest roll through the dense smoke that was to cover my troops and kill at leisure, without ever risking a return shot. The only reason I got any at all was due to Ranger infiltrators springing up right next to them. Even in rolling smoke, the platoon mates of the shot Uhu shred such a squad with opfire after the first attack. If the Bazooka misses, they are done without glory. Since it is clear weather, extremely good visibilty and bright daylight, sneaking up to the monsters is suicide, even with AT teams and when no enemy infantry is there to help. In thick smoke!

It just sucks. Almost as much as those lurking in the enemies rear.

In the other game, it is me fielding the Uhu´s, its 2 AM and we have a thunderstorm, Vis is a surprising 17 though. Effect: The vaunted Uhu´s cant shoot at something that isn´t spotted, and I´ve lost more than two platoons two well-concealed enemy. Firing more smoke blinds my infantry scouts, and things are about even. the **** thunderstorm hinders movement a lot, though...

Summing it up, I´ve come to the conclusion that using the Uhu in day battles is cheating, while the difficulties of night battles curb its performances to a realistic level. The ability to see and shoot through smoke in all circumstances is a tremendous boon, though.

Since we are fighting a Vis 34 day battle, I will not shoot through smoke at ranges exceeding 12 hexes, since achtungpanzer.com states that 600m was the max. range of the image converter equipment.

I´m sorry for introducing this unbalancing piece of equipment to our battle. I hope my remedy works and that you accept my apologies!:)

[rbrunsman]

I am very gratified that my opponent took it upon himself to limit the use of this terror weapon. He could have "gamed" me and I could not have done anything about it. You are quite a gentleman, sir.

[rbrunsman]

I destroyed that SturmTiger I immobilized but I fear there are 2 more out there.

Several of those HTs I sent running are now flaming wrecks because they ran right out into an open field as they made their retreat.

And, I lost a squad and a recon vehicle pinpointing where 2 hiding Panther Gs had disappeared to. They are very close to the front lines, which could prove hazardous to them next turn. There are still 2 other Panther Gs and an unknown number of Uhus out there (as well as a PzIIIj(?) I think). So, there is a lot of armor still to contend with.

The German infantry is keeping a very low profile. I only know where one platoon is. But with all those HTs, there must be more out there.

I also now hold all VHs (except the German base VHs) and as they are per-turn VHs, I am in a pretty good position unless Lars has some other secret weapon to unleash upon me.

The rain of mortar fire has slowed considerably. I hope this lasts several more turns as the Germans feverishly reload their mobile 81mms.