Bulge 16.01s alt

[Plain Ian]

Enjoying your AAR. Thank you very much.

Thanks.
I enjoy reading AAR's so I thought I'd try one. I'm actually reading and following the Normandy AAR as well by Fhil. Copying some of his styles. I like the way his turns flow.

I'm still trying to find a way to display things on the map better or more consistently. Also trying to get that flow.

[Plain Ian]

Forgot to mention it last time, but great AAR indeed.

Its getting there. Need a bit more work on presentation. I will also try to improve my grammar and make things easier to read, especially for readers who might not speak English as their first language.

Because my opponent has been playing a very measured game, it has also been fairly easy to report it and hopefully keep it going.

In campaign games, with time to rest your units, losing whole units is more painful than suffering reasonably high losses. As long as a unit doesn't die, it can refit and be used again after all.

Still, you don't seem to lose entire divisions worth of quality troops so when more reinforcements show up and the weather improves, you should have a good chance of pushing him back.

Yes losing an element/company of a broken down Battalion effectively makes that Battalion a liability, even if it later combines. The 4th Division has quite a few Battalions which are short of companies and this means that Fatigue goes up very quickly when they are hit. It means they cannot hold ground.

My opponent has written that he is still keen to cut off and kill if possible. The attack in the south almost pocketed the 4th/10th Armoured against the map edge, and at Bastogne he is still trying to pocket the armour units there.

As you wrote, the Germans don't have a lot of divisions and they're vulnerable to attrition.

Yes when you look at the 2 'over view' maps, there really isn't a lot of German units showing is there? And of course in most cases he usually has ALL of that Division on the front line, with no reserves behind it. When I think about it, the only German unit from his 'start up' forces that I haven't see so far is the 62nd VGD? I wonder where it is?

Achieving attrition is difficult in this game. I can only think of a few times when I have hurt him badly.

1. I used 2 full strength Tank Battalions against a Panzer Lehr StuG X unit and wiped it out.
2. At Mersch he moved units over the River into the town, but because it was Rubbled they were stuck in T-mode. I clobbered them with artillery and tank fire.

But there is a small drip drip of losses. I'm amazed that he has lost 12,000+ men?

However it is tanks that worry me. I wish that this scenario used the special breakdown option, so that certain models of tanks were more likely to breakdown. eg Panthers/Tigers/King Tigers.

I also wish that US troops had similar hard attack value to the VG units so that German tanks took a steady drain of losses.

I also wish that US artillery was made a bit more lethal. I realise that the artillery stats for both sides are based on McNamarra and can't be changed, but maybe increasing US artillery to A morale would give them an edge?
The use of the proximity fuze and T.O.T. is sometimes cited as the reason why the Germans were held at Elsenborn. Perhaps this is an exaggeration but it was certainly a contributing factor which is difficult to achieve in this scenario....unless I'm playing it wrong.

Until then I wait for good weather and air to start whittling down the Germans.

Sorry for havering.

Ian

[Plain Ian]

Turn 39 German - South

Not much happened in terms of movement and ground lost BUT there was a surprise assault. 609th TD Bn lost a tank to fire from one of the Pz Lehr units, which got hit by return fire from US artillery. Then the other Panzer Lehr unit attempted an assault. 609th TD stood its ground but lost 6 more tanks. The assaulting Pz Lehr unit was Disrupted and lost 9 men plus a further 10 men from defensive fire and US artillery.

Only other action was artillery fire on 90th took out a scout car and the Engineer/StuG battle group killed 3 men from the 54th.

The armour from Pz Lehr and 5th FJD Bn moved away. I've no idea which way they went. Possibly west as he knows 4th armoured has arrived.

Chris the German player has admitted that he omitted to move all his Panzer Lehr units. In a big game this happens a lot.

[ComradeP]

Achieving attrition is difficult in this game. I can only think of a few times when I have hurt him badly.

A campaign game requires a different mindset than a smaller scenario, as the large number of turns means even small amounts of casualties each turn add up over time. I'd say you're still doing fairly well from what I can see.

It's easy to feel defeated after the initial frontline units take a beating, but in a scenario like this, or any other scenario where you get substantial reinforcements as the defender (like Smolensk '41 as the Soviets), you're mostly playing for time. It can be difficult to think in terms of "how much ground can I give?" but it's always a balancing act. I've noticed many wargamers play a campaign game like a smaller scenario, where they want to hold the frontline.

In a PzC campaign game, the state of your units after 100 or so turns is more relevant than their state after 40 turns (well, unless they really took a beating). Obviously, it does depend on how long the campaign scenario is.

However it is tanks that worry me. I wish that this scenario used the special breakdown option, so that certain models of tanks were more likely to breakdown. eg Panthers/Tigers/King Tigers.

Well, A/B quality or not, the Germans do have to drive around a lot in costly (in terms of MP's) weather conditions, so they're likely to suffer from breakdowns even though it may not look like it. What are the parameter data breakdown values for the campaign?

I also wish that US artillery was made a bit more lethal. I realise that the artillery stats for both sides are based on McNamarra and can't be changed, but maybe increasing US artillery to A morale would give them an edge?

Artillery is never truly strong in PzC, aside from high calibre rocket artillery. Artillery units are good for trying to disrupt units through small numbers of losses, but they're unlikely to kill anything by themselves. The historical situation of artillery causing most losses will generally not occur. Direct fire and assaults are more costly to both attacker and defender than artillery fire.

It's surprising how well air units perform, they must be using a different calculation of defender strength because a Stuka unit causes far more losses than a Nebelwerfer unit even though they have similar soft attack values (at least in Panzer Battles, not all OOB's based on the McNamara values actually use the same unit values for some reason). A good 6 plane A quality Stuka strike on defenders in clear terrain can kill 20-30 men, a 6 Nebelwerfer barrage can be considered good if it kills 6 men or so.

[Plain Ian]

Turn 39 German - Bastogne



Again not much to report. Michael brought up more armour and infantry and kept things going. I didn't see many German casualties here. 2 Vehicles which were probably armoured cars, plus my artillery scored some hits but not many. I think I only saw one US defensive ground fire triggered by his fire?

705th TD Bn and 14th Tank Bn were spared. (14th only has 2 companies so is a bit fragile, its a D Morale unit so I think it will Disrupt if it losses a tank)

Casualties fairly heavy. 1-502nd was targeted and is now moderately fatigued like its sister 3-502nd. Once they reach woods I may allow him to advance on Flamierge. I'm not happy though leaving 3-508th in Clear another turn. 82nd wasn't at full strength when it arrived and 3-508th has 575 men and is 76% TOE. Fatigue is only 32.

Quite an impressive collection of German armour though, and there are 3 2nd Panzer Panther companies to add to this.

[Plain Ian]

Turn 39 German - Trois Ponts - Franchorchamps



Another picture which shows off German tank technology at its best.

116th Panzer changed course slightly? Moving more NW towards Basse rather than Trois Ponts. 740th Tank Bn disappointed as no chance to show if they are any good. Michael must know Trois Ponts is in the bag and has shifted his attack.

Amongst the tanks we can see a small tank destroyer belonging to the 62nd VGD. So know we know where this Division is?

The 3-117th was heavily targeted with Werfer/artillery and is moderately Fatigued and Disrupted.

Most of the German losses was actually due to defensive ground fire triggered when they moved into the hex. Nice surprise to see it working. I've made best guesses as to which unit lost men as you cannot always tell from the replay.

No real movement north of Franchorchamp, it seems he is content to anchor here and drive west one hex at a time. That Clear looking terrain NW of Franchorchamps is in fact Marsh. When warm weather arrives, only Foot units will be able to cross it.

[Haplo_Patryn]

Thanks.
I enjoy reading AAR's so I thought I'd try one. I'm actually reading and following the Normandy AAR as well by Fhil. Copying some of his styles. I like the way his turns flow.

I'm still trying to find a way to display things on the map better or more consistently. Also trying to get that flow.

I have some here, but they're in spanish. From a couple of years ago.

http://www.puntadelanza.net/Foro/phpBB3/...hp?t=14331

http://www.puntadelanza.net/Foro/phpBB3/...hp?t=14386

http://www.puntadelanza.net/Foro/phpBB3/...hp?t=15076

Using Snagit for my AARs, but your edit program seems very good too.

[Fhil]

Enjoying your AAR. Thank you very much.

Thanks.
I enjoy reading AAR's so I thought I'd try one. I'm actually reading and following the Normandy AAR as well by Fhil. Copying some of his styles. I like the way his turns flow.

I'm still trying to find a way to display things on the map better or more consistently. Also trying to get that flow.

Hello,

I´m also following your AAR I´m trying to find the best style for pictures and the graphics as well, I´m using Snagit just like Haplo_Patryn wrote, but you´re editor got some nice functions too!

And finally, I´m also playing the Bulge Campagin as Allies. We´re near turn 90 with my opponent. What I can tell, I was shocked by his initial push, I had those first line divisions destroyed pretty well. In the north, I was finally able to stop him only two kms from Spa objective, where the lines finally stabilized. I also hold Bastogne, but it was a close call in the beginning. Now as the battle continues, the Allies receive a lot o reinforcements. So my advice is - don´t panic, more troops and tanks will come, just avoid getting your units surrounded.

[Plain Ian]

Thanks.
I enjoy reading AAR's so I thought I'd try one. I'm actually reading and following the Normandy AAR as well by Fhil. Copying some of his styles. I like the way his turns flow.

I'm still trying to find a way to display things on the map better or more consistently. Also trying to get that flow.

I have some here, but they're in spanish. From a couple of years ago.

http://www.puntadelanza.net/Foro/phpBB3/...hp?t=14331

http://www.puntadelanza.net/Foro/phpBB3/...hp?t=14386

http://www.puntadelanza.net/Foro/phpBB3/...hp?t=15076

Using Snagit for my AARs, but your edit program seems very good too.

Screenpresso is the first screen editor I've used. It was easy to learn and I now can copy a map and also all the unit pictures in about 5-10 minutes. Adding symbols and text probably another 10-15 depending on how many I add.
The only pain at the moment is using Photobucket.

Thanks for the AAR. Will try to read them on my tablet.

[Plain Ian]

Turn 39 German - Elsenborn



Well this is where the action happened this turn. Not his usual play style. He switched from WW1 artillery and ground fire to assaults. Maybe he’s reading my AAR?

Assault 1/2 – the 3-47th (Clear TRENCH) started off with 551 men and Green fatigue 97 level and B Morale. It was hit by a barrage of Werfer/artillery which took 55 men out. Assault 1 was launched by 3rd PzGr Div and 277th VGD I think. This failed to shift the Battalion, but they lost 79 men holding the hex. The attacker lost 3 men and 2 tanks! Ground Fire then Disrupted the 3-47th and an assault by 12th SS captured the hex and pushed the 3-47th out. Attacker lost 16 men and 3-47th lost 43. The 12th SS assault gun unit was Disrupted.

The 3-47th lost 137 men in total and is now Fatigue 215 Disrupted.

Assault 3 – 277th VGD plus 326th VGD support assaulted and pushed back the 741st Tank Bn. There was very little artillery and preparotory fire. The assault group lost 17 men and a unit received a Disruption to my defensive fire. They won the assault losing 14 more men but killing 1 tank.

A major blow was the appearance of the rest of 3rd PzGD at Sourbrodt plus a Bn of 3rd FJD in support. The Sourbrodt group NW of the town has cut the road, and I doubt I can shift them.

The 1-18th sat under a hail of artillery this turn. 50 men killed. The enemy then brought up strong forces from several different formations and proceeded to shoot the unit up. 1-18th started the turn with 697 men and has now 585, a loss of 112. Fatigue is 137 and Morale C.

Enemy losses for this area excluding the assaults was about 77 men.

The Germans have follow up units in the woods by Assault 3. I also think Peipers King Tigers will make an appearance next turn as well.