Leto's View - To assault a Soviet. QB DAR vs Colonel Talvela ***

[Copper]

Here is the scene in the East:



I've taken the liberty to move a 75mm gun up with a Sdkfz, and to my amazement, it hasn't been shot to pieces. Perhaps my arty knocked out a few mortars and guns... one can only hope. It should be set up in a turn or two and will give direct fire support to the East flag.

AS you can see, the Soviets are in rough shape, but I still loathe having to move into those woods with who knows how many SMG troops still lying in wait.

In the Middle I am doing better than I had anticipated:



Smoking the way is helping me get a perch on the outer edge of those scattered trees. My Grille can help out when I start to expose enemy troops, but in the meantime, I have decided to move up my 150 IG to a firing position on the 2nd western flag. 3 minutes to move, 2 to set up, and I have 4 turns to use up the remaining 15 rounds of honey nuts and HE goodness on the Soviets. Hopefully it will not be needed. Anticipation is a very major part of this game though, much like chess.

In the West Dave continues to drive erratically with his T-34/85:



I'm going to take my time clearing the first flag with my platoon of Sturmtroopers, just in case there is a counterattack from Soviet SMG's that were positioned forward of the flag.

The firefight begins at the second flag, and I'm now giving up on my middle hetzer to try and take out the T-34 nestled away in a keyholed LOS position now, and use the western hetzer to get him. Hopefully I can sneak up the shreck through the firefight and bag the T-34 with a 100m shot.

Nine turns to go. I'm feeling confident that I can hold at least one flag and dispute three others. With the causualties I'm dishing out, it may be good enough for a draw. As of now, I think I've protected myself from drawing a big "L" on this one, but anything can yet happen. I still know that there should be one or two hidden guns somewhere.

Cheers!

Leto

[Copper]

In the East, Dave's vaunted SMG squads are being crushed under foot like woodland pixies. Indeed a midsummer night's bad dream. With seven turns to go, gentle 'Puck' is braying up a storm and running for his life with the rest of the SMG troops...



My 75mm IG and the Grille will be ready to fire in a turn, and my Hetzers will be able to help out from the back. If I cannot get to the second flag, I will use the dishonorable flag rush tactic and nullify Dave's possession of it... (he's the one that asked for non-variable turns)

In the middle, there is no real resistance left, and after using mortars to silence the Maxim MG's at the back of the map guarding the second flag, my men are advancing upon the middle flag. The Grille and Hetzer will help seal the deal there.



Unfortunately, Dave has finally been able to prey upon the weakness of my tight formations and is now dropping 122mm arty on elements of my western infantry company... so far, only a few causualties, but if he unloads the whole spotter on that area, my advance towards the second flag may be halted.



I have another platoon or so still securing the first west flag, and I still need to take care of his T-34... unfortunately last turn, the Hetzer hunt orders were not long enough to bring him into LOS, and he'll be ready for the bushwacking hetzer next turn... I've sent over the HMG platoon leader (avec panzerfaust) from behind the T-34, and with some luck, can nail him while he's waiting for the hetzer to advance on him.



Six turns to go now... IF all goes well, I can secure 2-3 flags and nullify all of his... sure to be at least a minor win, and maybe even a tactical (as I have been very hard on his troops causing many casualties with my slow and methodical attack).

Cheers!

Leto

[Copper]

Is it just me, or are these pictures looking dark? hmmm...

Anyways... back to Endor where the furry Soviet Ewoks have dealt a stultifying blow to the Imperial Stormtroopers of Emperor Leto.

Intoxicated with triumph, and my head swelling with a fine frothy mead called, "hubris", I charge forth my Strumtroopers on turn 36 across one last slice of open ground (and the flag is mine, mwuahahahahaha!).

Up from the jungle rise the last vestiges of the warrior pixies, and in almost as quick as it takes to shove a plum up your arse, I've lost Lt. van den Krusher (famed on the soviet front for using walnut crackers to interrogate Russian troops) and two half squads of Imperial sturmtroopers... as they cross the now ocean like chasm of the gap between cover. Two other squads are crushed by rocks and point-ed sticks... while another two half squads break and bolt from the furry SMG wielding menace before them.



I still have two platoons closing from the top, and one platoon closing from the bottom in a pincer... the orange lines indicate where my 75 IG and 150mm Grille will be painting some HE portraits on Soviet uniform canvas next turn.

OF NOTE: he's somehow repositioned his 122 fire onto the top half of the EAST flag where another platoon of my sturmtroopers was advancing, but it stopped this turn... very possible that he could lay it down again and thwart me from the flag... but the hetzer's are there to make sure they will not be his either.

LET THAT BE A LESSON! Never, and I repeat, NEVER, rush a whole platoon of troops across open ground to an area where you have not yet cleared and enemy troops could be hiding. HALF SQUAD FIRST. I was going to do it, but then opted not to, thinking Dave crushed.

Well, he will be, it's just going to take the remainder of the next 3 turns to do it.

In the WEST, it has turned into an old fashioned shoot out, as my Kompany of strumtroopers on the ridge eating 122 HE is given reprieve by the spotter. They now advance towards the 2nd WESTERN flag after my own arty spotter has plastered the flag area for a full turn and a half.

OF NOTE, my 150 IG is now setup and will be firing on the second flag this next turn.



But the real interesting thing here is the behavior of Dave's T-34/85... as you can see in the picture below, his retreating into cover, has left him in a most unenviable position... My Hetzer commander already with one glove on, and a bottle of lube in the other, anxiously await the next turn...



The middle flag is surrounded by Imperial sturmtroopers, with only a few maxim's pestering the imperial death march forward. Mortars and the Grille are preparing to blow a few kisses there way... I shall not give you a screenie of this, as it is the same boring old crushing of Soviet infantry under the jackboot of my Imperial Sturmtrooper's kind of stuff.

The last 3 turns of this match will be an absolute nut stretcher.

Stay tuned!

Cheers!

Leto

[Copper]

AND THE EXCITING CONLUSION:

Damn, somehow the T-34/85 reverses, swivels its turret... and FIRES FIRST!




But like Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven, my Hetzer commander takes his time and waits to fire until he sees the brown of Dave's pucker hole... and he doesn't miss...



(GOD THANK GOD... wheww...)


In the EAST, a bit of revenge for the Imperial Sturmtroopers... a 150 HE shell lands in the midst of 3 Soviet defending units...



The 75 IG and the overwhelming might of the firepower of the remaining Imperial Sturmtroopers sends the furry Endorians fleeing. Many dead fuzzy bodies litter the foxholes.

...and their was great rejoicing! Minstrels to be eaten forthwith!

Cheers!

Leto

[McIvan]

I hereby award Pete the "Inspired lunacy in prose" memorial clicky.

I think my mind actually boggled

[Copper]

I hereby award Pete the "Inspired lunacy in prose" memorial clicky.

I think my mind actually boggled

I hope that award comes with clickies... a boggled mind is at least worth one clicky!!

(Leto stretches the tube around his arm, tightens it with clenched teeth and prepares to shoot up the clicky... ahhhh... bliss.

: )

Cheers!

Leto

[Copper]

It's all over... only a minor victory for me as I am unable to nullify his middle flag, and the far EAST flag does not fall thanks to a spartan SMG HQ platoon near the flag.

DAGNABBIT!

59 to 41 final... so close to a tactical!!!

More to come later, but I must fly to Philly...

Cheers!

Leto

[The Coil]

[Colonel Talvela]

Read Leto's very comical DAR. Love it. Anyway, I will make a few comments.

First, Leto pulled a lesson out of D. McArther's avoid-the-japs playbook to his great advantage. The map was so big and my men high quality but few in number (for the most part), so Leto basically just moved around them and bypassed them. And since about 1/2 my force was SMG units, I had limited ability to engage him.

And that was just another consequence of my kit selection that didnt work too good. My theory behind my selection was this:
1) I wanted to base my defense on Vet Guards Units that could engage his troops at range and stand up to counter-fire. That actually worked good.
2)I wanted a place to be able to find a place - deep in my defense - to stand my ground and then counter-attack. My goal when defending is not just to stop him, but to route them off them map. So i got the 2 platoon company of Vet SMG unit and two 107mm spotters with 4 TRPs.
3)I wanted one T34-85 for a mobile defense
4)I wanted one Su-100 to take out - or at the very least pose a threat to - heavy German tanks
5)Fill in the rest with Green SMGs/a couple mortars/some guns/barbed wire.

And I think my defense would have worked on a smaller map, but this map was just too big. When I saw it I knew that I just didnt have enough troops to cover the map. I spent a long time trying to think of some way to defend it better, but had to settle for the defense I mustered. And before we started I knew that if he went down either map edge, I would have no way to stop him. And that is what he did.



Some specific comments about situations

Leto]

After a brief hiatus (where I am sure that Dave was trawling the streets for any help he could get to bolster his failing defense) the Soviet Colonel T returns to the battle.

In the East my flanking Imperial sturmtroopers force the lethal SU-100 to retreat.??I've been teasing Dave about the 200 panzershrek's I bought, and even though his bravado propoganda huffs at my threats, the retreating SU validates that my own propoganda has the greater of the schwartzes!



This opens up the doors for ye old hetzers to lead the way for my 150 assualt guns.??I plan on pounding the forest and then smoking my way forward.

I didnt pull the SU-100 back because I was scared of panzershreks. I pulled it back because I wanted those 150s to come forward into the sights of my other gun

In the West Dave continues to drive erratically with his T-34/85:

Erratic??? I think my T-34 play was some of my best. A huge advantage that a T-34 has is their great mobility. I managed to avoid getting into the LOS of your hetzers until all but 3 HE shells were gone. And I almost escaped from that noose - in fact, really you were had a minor blessing from the CM gods to not lose that hetzer.

More comments later

[Copper]

Read Leto's very comical DAR. Love it. Anyway, I will make a few comments.

First, Leto pulled a lesson out of D. McArther's avoid-the-japs playbook to his great advantage. The map was so big and my men high quality but few in number (for the most part), so Leto basically just moved around them and bypassed them. And since about 1/2 my force was SMG units, I had limited ability to engage him.

And that was just another consequence of my kit selection that didnt work too good. My theory behind my selection was this:
1) I wanted to base my defense on Vet Guards Units that could engage his troops at range and stand up to counter-fire. That actually worked good.
2)I wanted a place to be able to find a place - deep in my defense - to stand my ground and then counter-attack. My goal when defending is not just to stop him, but to route them off them map. So i got the 2 platoon company of Vet SMG unit and two 107mm spotters with 4 TRPs.
3)I wanted one T34-85 for a mobile defense
4)I wanted one Su-100 to take out - or at the very least pose a threat to - heavy German tanks
5)Fill in the rest with Green SMGs/a couple mortars/some guns/barbed wire.

And I think my defense would have worked on a smaller map, but this map was just too big. When I saw it I knew that I just didnt have enough troops to cover the map. I spent a long time trying to think of some way to defend it better, but had to settle for the defense I mustered. And before we started I knew that if he went down either map edge, I would have no way to stop him. And that is what he did.



Some specific comments about situations

Leto]

After a brief hiatus (where I am sure that Dave was trawling the streets for any help he could get to bolster his failing defense) the Soviet Colonel T returns to the battle.

In the East my flanking Imperial sturmtroopers force the lethal SU-100 to retreat.??I've been teasing Dave about the 200 panzershrek's I bought, and even though his bravado propoganda huffs at my threats, the retreating SU validates that my own propoganda has the greater of the schwartzes!



This opens up the doors for ye old hetzers to lead the way for my 150 assualt guns.??I plan on pounding the forest and then smoking my way forward.

I didnt pull the SU-100 back because I was scared of panzershreks. I pulled it back because I wanted those 150s to come forward into the sights of my other gun

In the West Dave continues to drive erratically with his T-34/85:

Erratic??? I think my T-34 play was some of my best. A huge advantage that a T-34 has is their great mobility. I managed to avoid getting into the LOS of your hetzers until all but 3 HE shells were gone. And I almost escaped from that noose - in fact, really you were had a minor blessing from the CM gods to not lose that hetzer.

More comments later

Good Stuff! Hopefully you have time to get a few more great comments in here!

Cheers!

Leto