(remember the 6pdr gun used by most of the Airborne forces has no HE ammo so is unable to engage infantry).
You need to spend your time it the tips thread just popping up little things like that!
So we need to look specifically at the ammo for each unit and lacking HE it will not be able to target infantry?
Don't fret Eric, anything short of a total loss of all your troops against Yakstock is a victory to us mortals. On top of that, it is an excellent learning tool.[8D]
Thank you Mr Frag. Even the little comments in here can be very helpful. I'm trying to write the AAR as 'warts and all' as possible so that everyone can see my mistakes (and hopefully learn from them as I will[;)]). I've been 'stuffed' by Yakstock three times now so maybe this is 'fourth time lucky'[8D]
Okay guys (and gals), your errant battlefield commander can now post another report. This was yet another short session, since the UK has switched to 'British Summer Time' and we're a bit 'out of sync' at present!
Day 3 0447 to0930
With the arrival of dawn on Day 3 the bombardment of the Mook bridge continues unabated with the 325th Regt HQ exceeding its casualty limit there. I chose to detach the mortar platoon and adjusted the order to ‘in-situ’ figuring that when the units retreated away from the objective itself there was no need for them to return to close order thus reducing casualties. Casualties though are what the 504th Regt are suffering in the hills overlooking Bisselt. Pummelled by artillery and shot at by seemingly invisible enemy troops, by 0740 I’m forced to order them to withdraw towards Mooker Schans where they will take their place in the line of defence in front of the Mook bridge.
The arrival of 30 Corps HQ and the Guards Armoured Division HQ have evened things up a little, at least on the artillery front anyway. I decided to create a heavy artillery firebase west of Gassel whilst concentrating the lighter batteries to the east. I also ordered A bty 27th LAA Regt to defend south of the Overasselt crossing with the intention of driving the enemy forces out of their defences and constructing a bridge there. To take advantage of the extra artillery I now have I’ve started to push small companies of paratroopers north to recce enemy positions. Give the ‘Kraut’ a taste of his own medicine.
Remember now that you have some real guns on hand that troops in wooded areas take extra damage ... Yakstock routed about 15 of my units all at once out of the woods one time because I forgot that sad fact. Keep your guns out of sight though. He will make you pay if he spots them [;)]
Thanks for the thoughts. Trouble is a lot of the area currently being fought over is heavily wooded. As regards 'hiding' my artillery, the area south of the river affords little cover so I do my best. My para batteries have been hit a couple of times but the rest seem relatively safe at present (touch wood). Anyway, here's the next installment:-
Day 3 0930 to 1530
At 0940 the Welsh Guards arrive. Without much knowledge of enemy positions I order the 1st Bn to probe the crossroads near Luneberg where my AT unit was recently mauled whilst the 2nd Bn are deployed defensively a couple of kilometres to the west. The HQ with its support I set to defend north of hill 81.8.
The Irish Guards arrive some 30 minutes later and it has to be said that I really don’t know what to do with them. I decide to hold them back as an armoured reserve for now. If my bridge building plan works then they are perfect for a race north (with engineers in support of course) and if not then maybe I can use them as part of a ‘right hook’ into Nijmegen.
The battle situation in the southeast has started to take a serious turn. Enemy troops are starting to appear in strength around Popenberg and Bisselt and by 1100 it is pretty obvious that this is a major push! My paratroopers in the area are tired and seriously under-strength but are nevertheless well dug in. Nevertheless I know that I will probably have to reinforce the area at some stage to avoid a catastrophic collapse and the loss of the Mook Bridge. Despite this I have decided to keep probing north and east to ascertain German positions and bring my artillery more into play. I need to find areas of weakness and gain the initiative as my reinforcements arrive but at the same time ensuring my own defences remain strong. It’s a difficult balance to strike!
Remember, if your going to build a bridge then every engineer is precious.
Strip them out of their current formations so you can send them all to the bridge construction site once your bridging unit(s) arrive.
Many hands make light work [;)]
Precisely!! I'm still having problems with the bridging units though. The unit I ordered to build at Overasselt has decided to try and cross the river to the north and start building on the other side[:@]. The one at Nederasselt appears to be sitting and doing nothing[:@]. If I work out why I'll post[:)]
At last we appear to be back on schedule[:)]. Timewise at least America and Britain seem to be back in sync[;)]. Anyway, here's the next installment:-
Day 3 1530 to Day 4 0008
It seems my feelings about the direction of my opponent’s schwerpunkt were correct as at 1545 powerful enemy formations are spotted moving through Oostberg. I feel confident that my defences can hold this back! If not, my reserves should be able to counter the enemy threat without too much difficulty (or is this just overconfidence?). By 1900 my positions north-west of Oostberg are under some pressure but the enemy is driven back in some disorder by persistent shelling from my artillery.
With 30 Corps arriving to reinforce my battered paras I can now start to prepare my own offensive operations. 3rd Bn 504th Regt are ordered to probe south of hill 81.8, partially to ascertain whether there is any threat of an enemy push from the east. F Coy 2nd Bn 505th Regt positioned some 2 km south of Groesbeek village is now providing my with valuable intelligence as strong enemy forces stream south, being shelled by my artillery as they go. With two bridges now under construction I have a number of options as to where to strike. 43rd Division should be arriving early on day 4 and I should have a better idea as to my options at this time. Nevertheless, I need to press the enemy hard to keep him from massing his forces and achieving local overwhelming superiority. To this end I decide to order the Guards Armoured Division (Irish Guards included) to attack towards the Sanitarium from the south, driving up the road that runs parallel to the canal. Although I’m confident that there are no enemy troops south of Hoender Park I’m fully aware that my armour will be spotted and shelled but then that is a risk worth taking.
My belief that an enemy push from the east could be in order is confirmed as heavy fighting erupts around Hill 77.6. This seems to involve troops from KG Goebels, surprisingly including a medium artillery unit. I doubt this is a sign of desperation so I can only presume that my opponent has miscalculated! Either that or my troops are guilty of gross exaggeration – but then they’re American paras so what can I expect[:D]!
Continuing with my offensive operations at 2007 I decide to order 2nd Bn 508th Regt to probe north to about 1km west of Dekkeswald and at 2155 I order the 1st Bn Welsh Guards to strike the crossroads near Luneberg, only this time in full force rather than just a reconnaissance raid. I don’t expect the latter attack to succeed but it is important to get my opponent reacting to my moves rather than the reverse. I hope to get him to release more of his reserves to counter this further weakening his position to the north. In a further offensive move I opt to launch the 2nd Welsh Guards at Driehuizen at 2325, again hoping to draw enemy reserves in where my artillery can start to take its toll. The 2nd Bn 508th Regt starts to encounter units of KG Henke west of Dekkeswald at 2345, now things should start to get interesting in the villages and suburbs south of Nijmegen.
Nevertheless, I cannot afford to weaken my defences at the crucial Mook Bridge. For all their valour, the paras are tiring and taking casualties. To stiffen the defences, as soon as the Princess Irene Bde arrive I order them to take up a defensive position in the rising ground east of the bridge. With a battalion of the Coldstream Guards to the south-east and the Grenadier Guards to the north I believe my position here to be as close to impregnable as I can make it.
Well, this latest session has to be the wildest yet. My side are finally at full strength and it is 'action' all the way from now to the end.
Day 4 0008 to 0829
‘Crunch Time’! The next 24 hours will decide the outcome of the battle. If my troops can continue to repel my opponents attacks to the south and east then I cannot be defeated! But to gain a decisive victory I must continue to push northwards and take Nijmegen! This is a stiff task and will depend to a certain extent on how committed my opponents troops have been to his own assaults.
30 Corp continues to arrive in strength. At 0147 129th Bde arrives and I decide to detach two battalions to give fire support to my bridge building operations. To this end I send 4th Somerset Light Infantry to Overasselt and 4th Wiltshire to Nederasselt. I set the aggro level of both missions to high to help keep the enemy troops in the area suppressed. 43rd Division arrives shortly afterwards and I order it to move into a position somewhat east of its arrival point. Once one of the bridges has been completed I plan to bounce 130th Bde across the Maas and capture the bridges at Honinghutje or Neerbosch. Should they fail then I’m building another bridge at Heumen (what else can I do with the bridge-building units?!) where I’ll pull them back over the canal. The last of my major reinforcements (214th Bde) arrive at 0500 but I’m uncertain as to the best place to commit them so I choose to hold them back as a reserve.
In the meantime I continue my offensive operations to the north. The Guards Armoured Division laboriously prepare their assault on the Sanitarium but with dawn approaching the lead units are finally on their way – Go Boys!! As I’ve said I don’t expect an easy victory here and indeed by 0650 they’re suffering heavy casualties. Nonetheless I need to draw in enemy troops to facilitate my other attacks and in some respects the Guards are succeeding. With the Welsh Guards driving forward in two separate thrusts at 0421 I order 129th Bde (less the two battalions committed elsewhere) to attack Driehuizen in parallel with the 2nd Welsh Guards.
The situation in the south and east gets increasingly confused as daylight reveals more and more enemy units. The artillery mercilessly pounds my positions defending the southern approaches to Mook and I’m forced to order 508th Regt HQ to fight a delaying action back to the defensive line held by the Grenadier Guards. Nevertheless they suffer very heavy casualties necessitating the disbandment of the Base unit and the re-constitution of the HQ on several occasions. The 325th also suffers horribly under the bombardment particularly as its forward positions seem to have been singled out for special attention by enemy Nebelwerfer batteries. But my opponent is not the only one with powerful artillery! The arrival of 43rd Division finally gives me the edge in this resource and the enemy troops advancing around the villages of Oostberg, Popenberg and Bisselt are driven back under a hail of shells. It’s around Hill 77.6 that the most ferocious fighting is going on. Here, 3rd Bn 504th Regt, and the 1st and 2nd Bns of 505th Regt are engaged with elements of KG Goebels and what appear to be parachute units although this is currently uncertain. My guess is that they’re trying to cut the railway line and possibly strike towards Malden so isolating my forces towards the north.
Another session and plenty more action. In some respects so much that I almost certainly missed some out of my report. Enjoy nonetheless!
Day 4 0830 to 1430
Heavy fighting across the whole of the battlefield east of the Maas-Waal Canal seems to be the theme of the 4th day of the engagement. German troops continue to push north and east from the area of Bisselt-Popenberg-Oostberg where they meet stiff resistance from the paratroopers and Coldstream Guards dug in protecting Mook itself and the all important bridge. Elements of the 504th and 505th Regts defending the hills west of Groesbeek also come under pressure both from the south and the east where KG Goebels continues to attack despite the surrender of its Infantry Howitzer Company at 1135.
The battle for the Sanitarium rages on with the Irish Guards successfully seizing their objective despite taking serious losses from enemy artillery and elements of 10th SS Panzer defending the approaches to Nijmegen. The same cannot be said to be true of the rest of the Guards Armoured Division where the Coldstream Guards remained pinned just north of Hoender Park for much of the day. I may well need to detach the Irish Guards if I wish to push on into Nijmegen itself. To this end at 0930 I order 214th Bde to attack towards St Anna north of the Sports Stadium. Importantly, I ensure that they take a route that follows the canal so as to avoid any marauding German units that manage to break through my lines to the south and east. To ascertain German strength in the area I issue fresh orders to D Sqn 2nd Household Cavalry requesting they probe some 1km east of St Anna and 2nd Bn 508th Regt to probe De Ploeg. Regrettably D Sqn takes heavy losses but the intel achieved allows me to shift 129th Bdes objective some 2km north and order 2nd Welsh Guards to attack the region just reconnoitred both at 1350.
Despite incurring heavy losses, enemy troops continue to assault the 325th Regt to the south-east of Mook, gradually driving it back. Fearing a concerted attack by Panzer reserves sweeping in from the south-east I decide at 1221 to order B Bty 73rd AT Regt to cover the approaches to the Mook Bridge with its 17pdrs.
As ever in engagements like these there are some bizarre moments. Shortly before the end of the session (1415 game time) I noticed that C Sqn 2nd Welsh Guards was attempting to reach its allocated position by the crossroads at Luneberg via a relatively circuitous route. Before I could attempt to do something about it they ran into 2nd Heavy Flak Bty KG Barnhoff and what appeared to be a Nebelwerfer battery. Some fifteen minutes later the Guards had been routed. I therefore reattached them to their nearby parent unit and proceeded to order an attack on the artillery positions.
So much for the best laid plans..... [X(] The plan was for Yakstock and I to play out a series of 8 hour sessions and produce small reports for each session with larger reports at the end of each full day. As those of you who have been following this have probably noticed it hasn't exactly worked out that way[:)]. Real life intruding on the more important activity of gaming[:D][:D]. Anyway, here's the next installment.
Day 4 1430 to 1940
Moving B Bty 73rd AT Regt seems to have been a good decision. From its position just south-east of the Mook Bridge it has an excellent field of fire down towards Riethorst. A mechanised thrust from that direction was thrown back in some disarray by the battery’s AT fire together with HE from my field artillery and the efforts of my battered front line troops at 1550. Nevertheless at 1527 I alter the facing of the Princess Irene Brigade to a south-easterly direction. At the same time I also order B Bty 27th LAA Regt to take up a position slightly east of Galberg (west of the Maas) where it enjoys a clear field of fire over the river. If I can deny this approach to Mook then the only other option my opponent has if he wishes to take the bridge is through the woods and hills around Oostberg and Popenberg where my troops are deeply dug-in.
Further north my progress up to Nijmegen is being seriously impeded by elements of 10th SS Panzer Division. Apart from the Irish Guards, the Guards Armoured Division seems paralysed around Hoender Park. Hopefully when 214th Bde finally arrive in the combat area I can break the stalemate and drive into central Nijmegen. To this effect at 1845 I give the 214th a ‘hurry up’ order as they appeared to be ‘hanging back’ more than a little. My other forces in the northern sector of the battle have been suffering more than a little. Both battalions of the Welsh Guards have suffered heavy casualties in separate engagements. North of Driehuizen the 2nd Bn has been driven back by units of 10th SS Panzer Regiment whilst in the east around Wolfsberg the 1st Bn together with HQ units has had its attack stall barely after it started. I opted to cancel 2nd Bn 508th Regts probe north-eastwards when it ran into enemy troops outside De Ploeg at around 1500. The battle rages on sucking in various enemy units apparently from KG Staargard although I cannot be sure.
Away from the main battle zone I finally manage to bounce a couple of battalions across the Maas at Overasselt. The 4th Somerset Light Infantry are ordered to defend the bridge itself for now (given my opponent’s reputation I would not be surprised to see an attack attempted over the bridge to get amongst my artillery formations) whilst 4th Wiltshires have been ordered up towards the crossing opposite Hatert where I hope they’ll join with 14th Royal Engineers and assault the bridges at Honinghutje. I’m also shifting much of my artillery westwards and northwards so that they will be within range of the main attack into Nijmegen.
Thank you for the encouragement Mr Frag. It's a fine line to tread between caution and prudence, I just hope that I'm walking it in two game days.[;)] On a slightly different subject I've played the scenario solo and achieved a higher level of success but it still only came out as a marginal victory[:(]. As victory conditions go I think this scenario is one of the hardest to achieve a decisive victory.
One needs to look carefully at the VP breakdown in this scenario.
German: 100 max for kills
1x 26.1 (10) (owned, required from start)
1x 21.6 (6) (required from start)
3x 7.2 (2) (required from start)
6x 5.2 (2) (not required until 3rd day, 8am)
1x (2) (only need to own at end of game)
3x (1) (only need to own at end of game)
Allies: 50 max for kills
1x 26.1 (10) (not required until 3rd day, 8am)
1x 21.6 (6) (owned, required from start)
2x 7.2 (2) (owned, required from start)
1x 7.1 (2) (owned, required from start)
6x 5.2 (2) (not required until 3rd day, 8am)
1x 5.2 (1) (not required until 3rd day, 8am)
A lot of the points come from time based possession. As the possession clock doesn't start on the Allied side until day 3, they can dig in and defend their starting 4 key VP locations. The exact reverse holds true for the Germans. They need to agressively pounce down and deny those key 4 VP locations from the very start of the game, grabbing VP for themselves and taking VP away from the Allies. This one (in my eyes) seems to reward an agressive German player who grabs early and hard then defends for the duration with the 2:1 ratio on losses seems to point one in that direction.
Thanks for the heads-up on that. It's something that I know, but not really know, if you understand what I mean. I've played the game solo from both sides and would concur that early German aggression is the best way for them to win at all, and the only way for a decisive victory. I've got two incomplete AARs from the German side where I've tried for a decisive victory and failed. Once the game with Yakstock is over I'll probably give it another go (pride now dictates that I must). If we can hook up I'd quite like an MP game with you too if you're up for it! It'll probably be May before I'm free though but we'll see.
The battle continues to heat up as night approaches on Day 4. In the north 129th Bde encounters stiff opposition as it pushes up to relieve some of the pressure on 2nd Welsh Guards. In the meantime the Guards Armoured Division slowly inches its way up to its objective south of the Sports Stadium. With 214th Bde forming up to its rear, at 0005 I order them to prepare an assault on Somerchem. The final hammer blow in the north will be delivered by 130th Bde who were ordered to assault Hummer Park at 0154. If this is successful it should deliver the Nijmegen CBD objective to me with some hours to spare before the end of the battle.
The position around Mook itself is far less clear. At midnight the heroic survivors of 325th Regt were driven out of the village after holding out for over 4 days! Yet I cannot allow the enemy to dig in and threaten the bridge so to this end I order the Princess Irene Bde plus the survivors of 325th and 505th Regts to retake the village. With 130th Bde ordered north I opt to send 43rd Division HQ and its support units to defend the position soon to be vacated by the Princess Irene.
In a separate development I adjust the orders isuued to 4th Wiltshires and 14th Field Sqn Royal Engineers to a direct attempt to seize the eastern end of the Honinghutje Bridge. Despite requesting they travel by a covered route they nevertheless run into what appears to be an SS Panzer Co. at the crossroads of the wooded area about 3km west of Blankenberg.
Despite requesting they travel by a covered route they nevertheless run into what appears to be an SS Panzer Co. at the crossroads of the wooded area about 3km west of Blankenberg.
Typical Gary, he loves to leave individual units blocking roads just to delay you. It is murder with painful delays! [:D]
