My crack at an AAR

[00Dawg]

This is my first try at an AAR, but I figure if I enjoy reading them so much, other people do too.

AAR: Thunder at Banya Pass by Mike Amos.
Location: Near Nadvornaya, Russia
Date: May 2, 1944
Notes: Played with C&C off :rolleyes: .

Mission: A Hungarian battlegroup is being sent to seize Banya Pass in order to secure the army's right flank. Recent attacks have caught the Russians in preparation for a new offensive, and only now are the Reds beginning to counterattack the Hungarian incursion. A sizable Russian force is heading towards the pass at the same time. As would be expected, both the Hungarian equipment and troops are of a somewhat lower quality than their Russian adversaries. My strategy is to slow down the initial Russian units with ambushes and flank attacks while allowing the infantry time to go around to the West and still reach the village in time to dig in.

Turn one: My initial units consist of motorized infantry, several scout cars, , two 40 mm AA vehicles, , 4 75mm AT guns, and some very light tanks. I split my forces from the get go, sending the truck-carried infantry along the northwest road with two AT guns and an AA, and sending the scouts cars, motorcycle infantry, tanks, and the rest to the East towards the objective at a road junction.

Turn two: Some Toldi IIA tanks arrive with their heavier 40mm guns, and I quickly send them along the northwest road to provide the infantry with some tanks support if needed. My motorcycle units encounter their Russian counterparts near the first objective, and a brief firefight chews up one squad from each side, but the Russian keep control of the objective for the moment.

Turn three: Several Turan-I tanks arrive, along with a single Turan-II, and I dispatch one group to catch up with the motorized infantry column, and send the rest to the rapidly spreading battle near the road juncture. With support from the armored cars, the 40mm AA, and an AT gun, my motorcyclists force the Russian cyclists to surrender or retreat, and a car rolls onto the objective. Several Russian scout cars are seen approaching my units, and a lone motorcycle squad I dispatched towards the initial Russian entry area discovers several more scout cars moving towards my force's flank.

Turn 4: A company of Turan-II's arrives, and is dispatched towards the road junction. At the junction the Russian M3A1's unload scads of infantry, and my troops position themselves to defend the road juncture. In the village, a lone motorcycle squad has picked up all the objectives, and my AT and AA guns arrive to begin digging in. My lone scout in the south has now spotted BA-64's along with the M3A1's.

Turn five: More Turan-II's arrive along with two platoons of PZ-IV's and are dispatched in the direction of the road juncture. A fierce firefight has broken out at the road juncture, resulting in three damaged or destroyed M3A1's, and several squads of Russian infantry in full retreat. My southern scouts report a column of T-34's moving up the road.

Turn 6: More PZ-IV's have arrived, putting a full company at my disposal. The tanks I have dispatched towards the road juncture will reach there too late to engage the leading T-34's with any hope of success, and the lead ones are diverted to help cover the flank, where a scout car has already knocked out another M3A1 and put their infantry to flight. At the juncture, I have begun pulling back my light tanks and cars to positions where I hope they can get off flank shots with some degree of accuracy. The Russian infantry has disappeared, and only some cyclists, AT guns, and a few scattered units remain to prepare for the initial onslaught of Russian armor. My AT guns in the village have unloaded with one set to fire directly down the main highway, and another in the woods just east of the village entrance. My scouts now report a full company each of T-34/76's and 85's with accompanying tank infantry and scouts.

Turn 7: A battery of assault guns arrives and is dispatched eastword. Russian infantry manages to sneak up on and badly hurt one of my AT guns covering the road juncture-it is immediately loaded up and sent North towards the village. The other is quickly removed to another patch of woods to the North, and only motorcyclists are left adjacent to the road.

Turn 8: The Russian armored group takes the road juncture and take first armored blood as they destroy a light tank that wasn't hidden well enough to survive. My armored forces have diverted through a break in the woods, and are entering the next patch of woods near where an AT gun has just disembarked.

Turn 9: A motorcylce squad takes down a T-34 M43 in a close assault, but is then driven back from the road. Two Toldi IIA's fall prey to Russian armor as their 40mm rounds fail to penetrate the flank armor of an M43. My southern scouts discover a SU-85 far to the southeast of where I expected to find any Russians, and a platoon of PZ-IV's and the assault guns are dispatched to handle the problem. My other armor begins to take up positions facing east from the outskirts of the woods just to the west of the main road. A platoon of SU-76's is also spotted moving north along the road.

Turn 10: The Russian armor moves North along the road in one huge mass (what I wouldn't give for an airstrike or some heavy arty at this point). They manage to take out a Turan-II as my shots fail to find the mark. At the road juncture, my cyclists are driven further into the woods, but my armored cars and Toldi's continue to deal death to Russian forces trying to force their way past the secondary road.

Turn 11: Another Turan-II explodes as the Russians continue northward with an air of invincibility. My PZ-IV's are well hidden in the woods waiting for the Soviets to pass. A group of Turans is sent to join my forces already in the village by way of the woods. My forces near the road juncture have eliminated all enemy forces in sight, and regroup for a counterattack. The SU-76's are seen heading towards the east woods and another road (this must not be allowed to continue). In the south, my tanks damage an SU-85 for the loss of one of their own.

Tun 12: The Russians overrun an AT position, but lose a T-34/85 to a Toldi 40mm before taking out the shooter. My forces near the juncture beat off a renewed attack from scout troops. In the south, my forces damage another SU-85 as a third one appears.

Turn 13: As the Russians near the town, my armor emerges from the woods to their rear and trades the loss of a PZ-IV for a single damaged M43. The juncture group heads towards their objective while fighting off russian infantry from all sides. The crew of the initial damaged SU-85 manages to reboard their vehicle, but they are destroyed before they can wreak too much havoc.

Turn 14: The Russians enter the town after losing three more tanks to rear shots in exchange for only one. However, they do overrun another AT gun and take out a Toldi in the town. As my forces move to retake the juncture, a new wave of infantry emerges from the woods.

Turn 15: The Russian tide begins to ebb as my Turan II's emerge near the village and destroy two 85's before losing two of their own. The rear shots are beginning to tell on tanks enter the east side of the village, also. My Turan-I's also emerge from their hiding places west of the road, and with the help of a scout car which has circled around, eliminate two of the su-76's for the loss of one of their own. A Toldi retakes the road juncture while the SU-85 in the south manages to eliminate another PZ-Iv.

Turn 16: The loose SU-85 in the south is destroyed along with one of my assault guns, but it turns out the crew of the 2nd damaged SU-85 also managed to get their vehicle moving again! The Russian tanks begin to encounter my infantry and one is lost to close-assault. The last SU-76 is destroyed, and my armor moves north to sweep the field of remnants and enage the tanks that have made it to the village.

Turn 17: The Russians lose three more tanks to infantry and long range fire, but begin taking objectives deep in the village. I hurrily reposition the remaining AT guns, but their crews couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Fanatical Russian crewmen assault my tanks and are gunned down as we drive towards the village. Near the west side of town, two T-34/85's I somehow missed emerge from the woods to endanger my positions. In the south, the last SU-85 is destroyed (again), and an assault gun is reboarded, but immobile-the remaining units move to capture the Russian entry point.

Turn 18: A desperate infantry assault succeeds in wiping out all of the T-34/85's except for the two flanking ones, and four 76's continue to wreak havoc inside the village. Hidden infantry and AT guns destroy a tank and an assault gun in the south, and my drive stalls. Near the juncture, Russian infantry launches a last-gasp effort to recapture the objective.

Turn 19: A flurry of destroyed tanks on both sides marks the desparate battle for control of the village, four tanks remain for the Soviets, and my armor uses greater numbers to emerge from alleyways and undergrowth for flank and rear shots. My drive in the south falls apart as only one tank is even able to withdraw alive.

Turn 20: The battle draws to a close as the last Russian tank is flanked and destroyed with a well-place round. One last squad of infantry is driven away from the road juncture. My forces are unable to regroup in time to try for Banya again.

Result: Draw
Hungarian-4557
Russian-1937

Losses Hungarian Russian
Men 253 396
Art 2 0
SV 1 0
APC 1 8
AFV 27 29

Analysis: I don't care what the points say, this felt like a victory. Most of the tank losses were of outdated models, and all of the Russian tanks were front-line. Given more time, I could've wiped out a few more lingering tank crews and weakened squads, too. One major reason for my heavy losses-Hungarians can't shoot straight-even from behind their enemy while sitting still. Still, I could've sacrificed a few more units at the road juncture in the first few rounds to buy more time for my tanks to camoflouge themselves-that might have helped some.
The Russians took their only viable route as it appeared to them. Poor recon and a little luck allowed me to sit on their flank unmolested until they had passed my main force. Then, they probably could've done better to turn and face off against my armor, but in their defense, they were facing AT guns in the village, and I did my best to keep my armor as hidden as possible even while attacking.

[marklaker]

Excellent job! I really enjoyed it, and the two recent ones by Alexandra as well. I hope to see more of them.

I'm working on one myself and hope to post it this weekend.

Keep 'em coming!

Thanks.

[Tankhead]

Very good AAR indeed good job, you did well in this battle it's not an easy battle

Tankhead

[Alexandra]

I echo the above comments by Tankhead. I tried that one once, and the AI as the Soviets cleaned my clock and good. Well done, on both the write up and the result.

Alex

[Warrior]

Jolly good show!

[Tankhead]

Another great scenario from Warhorse is Zajta if you like battles with minor power. A very good scenario I tested this one for Mike last fall and have played it 3 time so far. You can find it at my Scenarios page. It is worth a look Warhorse does very good scenarios.

Tankhead

[Wild Bill]

Way to go, Dawg! Roof! Roof!

Nice description of the battle. You write well. I enjoy these too. The Warhorse can put 'em together! ..WB