DAR - Sweeny Mark, the Demon Commander of Meet Street seeks revenge

[Colonel Talvela]

Thats right. Sweeny wants revenge (if I was really talented I would do a DAR in prose, but I'm not).

Similar settings as our recent game -
2000 ME, but this time May 45 rather than June 44. A couple of important differences.

1) Axis will have faust-60 and faust-100. Deadly inf AT weapons
2) May overcast means damp ground as opposed to June which is dry.

My one condition was no side could pick battalions, since at 2000 points the allies could only pick a pioneer battalion for close to 1700 points, where the axis have a number of good battalion choices under 1300 points.

The Demon Commander took the axis, and I again have the allies. Either side would have been fine with me.


I decided I would try to show Mr Sweeney how to do a full tank flag rush, so I picked:

2 reg chaffee platoons (fast cheap tanks with 75mm guns)
1 Vet M-10 platoon (the M-10 is a great tank killer for the price)
5 Brit Motorized platoons - 2 Vet, 2 reg, 1 green(6 man squads can ride on the chaffee without splitting - woot!!!)
2 6lb guns
2 HTs
1 3" mortar (my baby)
3 1917 HMGs

If the map was conducive I was going to load up all 8 Chaffees with 2 platoons of inf and charge the flags. But then I looked at the map. Here is my approach:



Two flags right in the middle. But where would I hide my tanks. I wanted to go to the spots marked in green, but the yellow lines show where he has two nice hills on the back of either side. My tanks would just be sitting ducks. So had to scratch the tank riding flag rush.

But also, look at the approach for inf - it is aweful. The grey is where I am going to put my inf, but that is just not a position that is sustainable to anything but hiding. You cannot put inf in buildings - they will get rubbled. My left flag does have decent rough ground. you cant move through it, but you can hide it in ok and it does provide good cover. on the right is just scattered trees, brush and houses. terrible.

As opposed to his approach below:

On his left he has a great reverse slope postion with rough ground and woods. On his right he has a nice wide area of rough ground and woods. And 100m off the flags he has great overwatch locations. On top of the he has the two good overwatch hills.

But I think I have a plan that will work, and it involves taking two key pieces of terrain

This is the far right edge of the map. The woods outlined in yellow are places I have to have. Look how deep into his territory the big woods in the foreground are. If I can get my chaffees there, I will be protected from his AFVs, and have clear LOS to any inf that is approaching the flag.

This is important because there is a lot of debate over whether to flag rush or not. But IMO that really isnt the key issue in an ME. The key issues are 1) the approach leading to the flags and 2)cover around the flags.

First is the approach. From turn 1 you have a very limited time to get your men to ground that you can approach the flags from cover. Unfortunately, I have no covered approach, so I have to get my men to the flags fast. But once I get there I have very little cover around the flags - definitely not enough to fight from. So basically my men will try to hide and not get HE'd to death.

I am excited that I found some spots that had good cover for my inf and my tanks - even though they were away from the flags - that had LOS to his approach. If I can get my units in place before he finishes his approach he will have a hard time.

[McIvan]

Looking forward to this.....very interesting tactical situation :)

[Maakt Droog]

Excellent DARs! There's a lot of great stuff in them, esp. with the map/terrain analysis -- very helpful.

Thanks for all the good work.

[Colonel Talvela]

Here is a top down view



The green circle will be my green platoon
The two blue circles will be my two vet platoons
Two purple circles will be two reg platoons
Yellow square gun places
Brown square are chaffees
purple squares are m10s
pink square is my 3" mortar

From this view you can also see how deep my guys on the right will be. Another good thing about that position is that from that position my tanks could swing around behind anything he has on the hill. Dont know if I would actually do that, but if he turretless tanks on the hill there is a good chance I will go for a pincer move.

[Colonel Talvela]

Since The Coil is taking forever to send me his setup file – really people, who takes weeks to pick troops and make their setups… quite aggravating – I decided I actually would try to be talented and put my DAR into prose.

So you will all (ie Ratzki) be witness to the creating of the first every Blitz-way musical:

Sweeney Mark, the Demon Commander of Meet Street

Cast of Characters:

Sweeney Mark – The psychotic commander who is seeking revenge for his loss of status and the death of his beloved tanks at the hand of the despotic ELO leader Judge T
Judge Turpin (aka Judge T) – The despotic ELO leader of the Blitz who in times past wickedly routed Sweeney Mark from the battlefield and killed, maimed, and violated Sweeney’s beloved tanks.
Beadleto Bamford – Judge T’s fat, ugly pawn. Beadleto does most of Judge T’s dirty work, ie killing usurping commanders who would try to rise in the ELO ranks. It is a lonely world for Judge T and Beadleto as the most powerful ELO’ers at the blitz, but they like being on top. Of course, Beadleto is only on top because Judge T lets him stay there, but he is too stupid to realize it(Note: Beadle Bamford is the actually character’s name, which is incredibly fitting. But not quite as fitting as what he looks like though)


Anotoni – (Anthony in the move so I just have to use him) The young & novice commander who is Sweeney Mark’s protégé and falls in love with Sweeney’s “child”

Scene 1 – No Place Like The Blitz
(Note, the best way to read this is to click this link http://youtube.com/watch?v=tG6EZqaTbl4 and read my text while the real song plays)

Antoni (sung)

I have played Combat Mission
beheld its games
from Overlord,
to the mountains of CMAK,
But there's no place like the Blitz!

Sweeney Mark (sung)

No there’s no place like the Blitz

Antoni (spoken)

Mr. Sweeney

Sweeney Todd (sung)

You are new...
Games has been kind to you...
You will learn.

There's a hole in the world like a great black pit
and the vermin of the world inhabit it
and its morals aren't worth what a tankette can spit
and it goes by the name of the Blitz. (*See disclaimer below)

At the top of the hole sit the ELO few
Making mock of the commanders trying to win a game or two
turning tanks to scrap and their guns to poo...

I too have played the games and seen its wonders,
for the cruelty of games is as bad as Germany in ‘42
but there's no place like the Blitz!

Antoni (spoken)

Is everything alright Mr. Sweeney

Sweeney Todd (spoken)

I beg your indulgance, Anotoni, my confidence is at an all time low.
For I once boasted of how I was a blitz ladder leader.


There was a Commander and his tanks
and they were greeeeeen...
a foolish Commander and his tanks.
They were the foundation of his plan...
and they were greeeeen, and they were PZivs.
And he was nieve.

There was another man who saw
that they were greeeeeeen...
A wicked vulture of the field
who, with a gesture of his steel
destroyed the commander from his place!
And there was nothing but to wait!
And they would die!
So frightened!
So scared!
So dead and oh so greeeeeen!

Antoni (spoken)

The tanks, sir, did they succumb?

Sweeney Mark (sung)

Ah, that was many weeks ago...
If you would read Col T's clever DARs you would know.

Sweeney Todd (spoken)

I want to tell you Antoni, I saw your intrepid and tenacity medals and realized I don’t have quit playing just because I cannot beat Judge T. You rescued me!

Antoni (spoken)

Will I see you again?

Sweeney Todd (spoken)

You may well find me, if you like, around Meeting Engagement Street. I wouldn't wander.

Antoni (spoken)

Until then my friend.


*DISCLAIMER, lest there be any confusion - in this blitz-way play Sweeny Mark hates the Blitz because of the despotic ELO leaders destorying his tanks. It has nothing to do with, and is not intended to relate to, the unfortunate events that happened last week.

[Ratzki]

I was not expecting that, maybe in another style like a Rondeau or maybe a series of Triolets, would the power of the message move more to the forefront of the piece. Does this battle have a full musical score? Is it possible for you to sing and record the piece then leave a link to it so we could all gain a true sense of what, at the moment, we are only able to read.;)

[McIvan]

I believe the musical score is presently available on DVD.

Genius :)

BTW great suggestion Ratski. I would quite possibly pay good* money to hear Col T singing that.

*a very, very small amount of good money, possibly not even enough to constitute legal tender anymore. But it would be good.

[Colonel Talvela]

I was not expecting that, maybe in another style like a Rondeau or maybe a series of Triolets, would the power of the message move more to the forefront of the piece. Does this battle have a full musical score?

like the first line of this thread says - I'm not that talented. Not even close. Best I can do is some weird Al adaptations.

Is it possible for you to sing and record the piece then leave a link to it so we could all gain a true sense of what, at the moment, we are only able to read.;)

I just made some travel plans to go visit Leto. We are going to be singing & recording the musical as a duet.

[Colonel Talvela]

Time to go through the exercise of futility known as "Guessing what The Coil will bring to battle."

I say futility because The Coil is as consistent with his kit-picking randomness as POS is consistent with his kit-picking regularity. However, The Coil always wants to outsmart you when it comes to kit picking. In our last game he brought the green POS-fist with green inf and some more green SPguns. After he lost he said that next time he was going to take a more balanced approach. Well that tells me that he will certainly not take a more balanced approach. So here is what I think - the POS-fist done right

1 Vet PZivJ platoon (5 tanks 769)
1 Reg PZivJ platoon (5 tanks 646)
1 Reg FJ company (545)
1 Sniper

If he takes this and does a full flag rush, I should be able to beat him. The flags dont have any good cover for tanks, and I have more AFVs than him. Chaffees can kill pzivs just fine, and M10s are superior to PZivs when it comes to armor duels.

[Colonel Talvela]

Turn 1 Action

It only takes one turn to realize my guess about the coil's force is wrong. He is dropping 81mm artillery near the right flag - I'm guessing in a wide pattern. Strange tactic IMO, although I have stopped my inf from moving into it. So if he is wanting to do a flag rush and wanting to slow me down then perhaps it is actually an effective use of 81mm art.