MAIN EVENT VI! Red Devil vs. [hirr]Leto

[Der Kuenstler]

Here we have [hirr]Leto's purchase screens. As with Red Devil, everything down to the antitank mines was imported onto the map and is the holding force to the East...



And here is the second screen....



For the backbone of his armor he goes with two platoons of regular Panzer IIIJs. Next he gets a platoon of regular IIIJ(Late)s. He gets cheated by the AI by getting one green one. The only difference between the two tanks is the (late) model has extra 20mm armored plate on the front. All of these tanks are equipped with the less than ideal 50mm L/60 gun. (But he was able to get a lot of them at regular quality.) He then gets two platoons of regular Marder III®s which pack a punch with the 76.2mm L/51 gun. They also have as much front armor as the regular IIIJs do - 50mm. But they are vulnerable with their fixed carriages.

He may use his green IIIJ(short) platoon for mopping up infantry and other light duty. The AI gave him a conscript there, too.

Concerns: Only one infantry company? No sharpshooters? No MG42s other than what was imported - more would have been a big help to the Germans on this map. No FOs. No veteran armor.

Good ideas: His three 75mm AT guns could do some damage (if well-placed) and Leto has bought transport for two of them. He's got a couple of 81mm mortars to counter Red Devil's towed guns.

[Der Kuenstler]

Here Leto explains his own picks....


"Okay, here is the nonsensical logic behind my kit selections for posterity:

I am Leto… I am Shai Halud… I am the biggest dork in the desert!

And on Arrakis (okay Libya, but that is where DUNE was shot, so it is just a technicality), warfare is all about DESSERT POWER! (mmm… toffee’d british canned milk cheesecake….)

Seriously, I suspect mobility will be king in this battle and so I went with a light contingent of Afrika Korps Infantry and heavy on the Afrika Korps armour… burn baby burn!:

Panzergrenadier CO (4 MG’s and 2 81mm Mortars) I suspect that he may have a few guns, so I need to at least bring a few pocket rockets to the battle. I also opted for a CO that had a full platoon of MG34’s as I suspect there will be a lot of distance sniping in this game.

2 Panzer III J L/60 platoons REGULAR (cannon fodder)

1 Panzer III J L.42 platoons GREEN (reserve and special teams force)

1 Panzer III J L/60 (late) platoon REGULAR (my tiny Tiggers… hull down, these tanks should almost be invulnerable to Tommy tank fire over 500m due to the shored up turret armour)

2 Marder IIr 76/L42 platoons REGULAR (my pinch hitters… I’m hoping with the 50mm of armour they will be able to withstand a Stuart duck rush at range and are all very capable of swatting Grants out of the park with one swing. All should be aware that the guns captured in Russia that were stuck on these assault guns were breech modified, and thus they are superior to the Soviet versions)

3 75mm AT guns (REGULAR) (not as powerful as the 76mm AT gun, but considerably less expensive and with way more hitting power at range than the 50mm AT/L60… which will be absolutely a necessary in this battle for keeping Brit Grants, Matilda’s and Valentines at bay when set up as an AT defence line).

1 Truck (81mm mortars should fit on this even with a towed gun)

1 Sdkfz gun tractor (ditto above… I am positive that 81mm mortars cannot ride on the back of tanks, but am not sure)

Wow, I think that’s it… all I can remember anyways. I will crank open my brain for the popcorn munchers and let them peer into the why’s of my kit selection as I figure out what kind of strategy I intend to plot with this crop of krupp steel.

IF Randy goes heavy with Grants, he may not have a lot of infantry mobility, as I do not think the Grant’s can transport troops… (please correct me if I am wrong) so let’s see if he goes with some Vally’s and Matildas for troop riding.

Into the valley of dust, rode the Leto.

Cheers!
Leto"

[Der Kuenstler]

We now have access to Red Devil's setup. This first view is actually towards the South and shows Randy's holding force that was imported onto the map. It looks like he's got most of his troops there mounted on the trucks provided and he's planning to get the heck out of Dodge. Leto will meet only token resistance here if he comes knocking. But Randy knows that trucks are very FAST on roads and he has nothing but road ahead of him to the Oasis. Notice he's left an AT Rifle up in the cliffs to get rear shots on Leto's AFVs and his Flamethrower unit is in position at the crossroads to torch any tank turning there.



Next is a general view from the Southeast of Randy's main battle force. As Von Karlsburg correctly predicted earlier in this thread, it appears RD intends to do a Southern "end around" with his main force to try to take the German setup area with its 300 point flag. He has committed half of his infantry to this task. He plans to hold his own setup area with one infantry platoon and a few support units. he has two of his towed guns hidden up in the cliffs and one in town. He has a Northeast attack force which looks like it will be headed for Leto's holding force and the Oasis beyond.



This battle takes place at dusk. Here is a nice shot of RD's biggest towed gun, his 25 pdr, pointing into the sunset. Notice how he has placed it - it is just behind the cliff edge, not right on it - and in "rough" terrain - which will make it a bear to knock out. It also has LOS clean to the ridge where the Germans would likely come if going that way. In CMBB at dusk LOS is still 2194 meters. I'm not sure for CMAK but it looks like two of RDs towed guns can see well over 1900 meters in certain places. But one drawback for RD is that none of his three guns are in command of a HQ, so they'll panic and abandon them quicker.



Next a closer shot of Red Devil's Northeast attack force. He has split his squads and put all of the men who can fit on the tanks. But he has not included a HQ on the tanks. This means that he may come under fire with a bunch of half-squads out of command for several minutes until their HQ can catch up on foot. By that time they may all be routed - we'll have to see. Because Randy bought no trucks, he was unable to put any of his slower units on transport -they'll have to walk. Will they get to the front before the battle ends? RD's 3" mortar crew is already bellyaching...



And finally a shot of RD's large Southwest attack force. He has the same problem here. His tanks are all loaded with half-squads but no HQ. He doesn't have to march his men as far from here though - and this is an intimidating bunch of firepower. If Leto is not prepared for what's coming over that ridge it could spell doom for him.

[Joonny]

That 25lber sure is in a good spot, but it's low velocity will make it hard to hit any armor, be useful against Inf tho.

[Der Kuenstler]

That 25lber sure is in a good spot, but it's low velocity will make it hard to hit any armor, be useful against Inf tho.

Yes - And I'm just afraid it won't last long up there with no HQ in command of it...

[British Tommy]

I think RD's lack of transport could be his undoing, especially with the HQ units walking. Only other way is to use his armour as transport by dropping off the half squads and racing back to pick up the others. But then that leaves his half his infantry out alone on the frontline :chin:

[ekrommen]

I like German's armor/infantry ratio the best. Enough tank platoons to cover multiple efforts..and there's alot to cover - blocking action towards enemy base, fight on the plateau, overrun the outlying force, go for the oasis.

I think company of troops is fine...there just needs to be a platoon to occupy each objective and provide "rider" support. This is no place to be hiking around..too slow and no way to close with the enemy.

Besides alot of troops on foot, also note that British had to split the Grant platoon...I think one or two of them will be out of command shortly. But, I still want to cheer for the Allies...I like those Grant and Stuarts.

[Der Kuenstler]

Here Red Devil explains his own setup:

"Ok here goes,
hoping on my delaying force will make leto divert to the upper plains where the ATG and 25lber might score a few good kills and my HD Grants moving towards his blocking force will swing back around and cover the field and hopefully force a decisive blow preventing him from nuking my guns as he focus' on my armor
what I'm hoping is that he is doing the same thing as me and coming across to party in the gully, while sneaking a flank move over the big hill in the middle thinking to catch my side force unawares.
I'm moving my recon squad to the city and hope he does the same so we can engage there and my dispersed side force can bypass his town and get there in time to rescue the lads
transporting many of my squads as teams and don't really plan on engaging with them until the rest of the platoon and the leaders can catch up either by walking or hitching a ride on the Stuarts, which are merely being used as taxis at the early point in the game. later on they will be the base attacking spearhead in trying to gain a flank on the German armor



the main picks of my force were based on my having those trucks where i needed them.. stupid mistake not realizing they were 50 miles away so the mortars and vickis get to walk. had i had those trucks well it was a whole different plan but that's not worth writing about now LOL
I was tempted to take off board artillery, but figured the fluid nature of the field will disperse their power and went with a local asset to have more control and quicker delivery.. a crack mortar will put it's rounds right on top of the spot very quickly so I feel lucky to have gained one, besides the grant 75 packs a good enough punch if the enemy armor is not around to help those troops unlucky enough to be targets.

if leto plays like i expect him to he'll have a lot of armor and will want to be driving all over the map making dust bunnies trying to confuse me.. i know where he'll be and he knows I'm coming.. Just banking on making the hits with my technology gains (gyro) and quick firing guns"


So he's going to try to make more than one trip carrying infantry with his stewarts? Interesting. Also the question comes up - with the size of the force he has going over that Southern pass, was it even nessessary to defend his setup zone with anything other than a LMG team to keep the flag British?

[Der Kuenstler]

Here are some shots of Leto's German setup, starting with his holding force to the East. We see he's doing almost the identical thing that RD is doing with his holding force to the West. He has his Rifle 41 platoon all loaded up on the trucks provided so he can make a run for it towards the Oasis. But he's starting off with them all in open ground. Has Leto forgotten how slow trucks are on open ground? Perhaps he figured going around the torn up area in the road would be even slower. He's left his MG 42s and his AT rifle up in the cliffs to welcome RD.



Here is Leto's main setup area. Looks like he's going for a chance to flank RD across the plateau with his main assets - the Northeast attack force. He's only left an ATG and a MG 34 to protect his town, probably figuring that RD won't be able to get around his attack forces anyway.



A closeup of the Northern attack force here. These tanks are green but they will do the job as they aren't likely to see enemy armour.



The powerful Northeastern attack force will be crossing the high plain - This force contains Leto's best tanks - his IIIJ(Late)s. Leto apparently expects to see the most trouble here.



The Eastern attack force looks like it's going to head for RD's setup area over the ridge. He has six AFV's in this force - but eight of RD's best British AFV's will be coming towards him head on...

[Der Kuenstler]

Here Pete explains his strategy with his own picture provided, in only the way he can explain...



"Alright… the krauts are ready. We’ve built a whole army out of telephone poles to look like 88’s and cardboard tanks mocked up over camels with broomsticks shoved up their arse … We plan on running three kubelwagons around in circles to make it look like we are kicking up a division’s worth of dust and a bread crumb trail of sugar cubes and tea bags leading right into our defences. The Tommies will not be able to resist! The piece de resistance is the 50 Acme™ exploding piano’s (with the F sharp key on “A long way to Tipperrary” set to go boom).
It will be a crushing victory for the Afrika Korps!

...here is the madness behind my set up (I have attached a paint produced overview of the battlefield to be posted using photobucket or something):

KG A is my main force and the plan is to move them quickly up onto the plateau where I can get them to intercept, flank and cut off any British move towards the two large and two small flags at the end of the map.
It consists of: 6 Marder, 4 IIIJ (late), 4 IIIJ, Sdkfz gun tractor and 75 AT gun plus mortar, and 2 platoons of infantry.

KG B is my rear flanking force. I suspect RD will defend his beginning flag quite well, so I want to keep this KG still during the first few turns to see what kind of movement RD will send across the desert pass to my side of the map. That way, I can either move them to flank into the rear of his forces or set up to defend against any forces he may launch toward my flag. It consists of 2 marders, 4 IIIJ’s a truck with a 75 AT gun and mortar and a platoon of infantry.

KG C is a very weak force consisting of 4 IIIJ shorts that are all green. They are also a reserve tank platoon for defence if all goes pear shaped on me, as the short 50mm with tungsten up close can still hurt enemy Brit tanks, especially if I set them behind buildings in ambush on short covered arcs. I plan on using them to take the british delaying flag with a few MG’s and infantry tank riders along for support. I plan on dropping off the infantry at the base of the town, and then ending around with 2 tanks from the rear of the village and then two tanks and infantry from the front. As the only thing I have to fear are AT mines and FT’s, I will take my time and pick away at any Brit forces I reveal with my infantry advance. I suspect RD will do as I have done and send the infantry to the back of the map to get in position to nab those juicy 2 large and 2 small flags, so I do not expect much resistance.

Motorized platoon: I am sending a full platoon to the two flags at the back of the map to set up a defensive line and also for observation of enemy forces.

Remnants of motorized platoon: I have a FT guarding the flag that is well defended, and only wish to cause a delay with my defences. Two MG’s will be set up in the hills on either side of the road, along with an ATR, and we will let the Brits advance on the town flag before letting them have it from both flanks. Hopefully they will get some infantry and cause chaos, with the ATR perhaps getting a few support vehicles in the rear. That’s it.

If all works to plans, then I should be able to keep my original flag, take the brit delaying flag, and cause enough concern to RD’s forces with a flanking move along the plateau as to severely truncate his advance towards the rear two flags… if he defends his own setup flag poorly, I may be able to nab that one too.

I expect a tough fight and am looking for only a minor win here.
Cheers!"

_____________________________________________________

Now the stage is set for the story that is about to unfold - a clash of battered warriors at heart whose style, personalities and ideologies are as different as the virtual troops they command. I've heard it said that iron sharpens iron. Leto was never so darkly witty as when lampooning Red Devil. And Red Devil was never so authoritative as when disciplining Leto. Like the harsh desert waste in this meeting engagement, their departure, along with that of others, has left the once vibrant Blitz CM forum at times dry and uninhabited. And now oddly they finish where they started - together, on a virtual battlefield - two guys - just joking around and enjoying a game. Bravo.


Rommel anxiously awaits for news as movement orders are given...