Campaign Of the Month: The Scottish Corridor

[raz_atoth]

This is the first campaign AAR of,hopefully,many ones to come.
The campaign is named 'The Scottish Corridor' and comes with the newly released Commonwealth module.
Without any further introduction...

[raz_atoth]

1. The best laid plans

The objectives of this first battle are:
a) A farmhouse-codenamed Neeps
b) A small hamlet - Tatties

I have,to get the job done,4 platoons of infantry,with two additional ones coming as reinforcements,supported by 2 Churchills and a 88mm arty battery.



The plan is to advance with 2 platoons + the armor on the right,towards objective neeps, with the other 2 platoons on the left,deployed behind some bocage to engage and hold in place the enemy forces found on my left while my right force maneuvers. Once neeps is secured,the right group and the reinforcements i'll get will swing towards tatties. A pre-planned arty strike is set to arrive after 10 minutes on a position which i'll suspect will be heavily defended.

[raz_atoth]

Five minutes into the game,my troops advance towards the designed positions with the scouts leading the way. Two enemy HMGs and one AT guns are spotted at the price of two casualties for my troops. One things is for certain. This won't be exactly a walk in the park.



Fast forward to minute 18.
The troops on the right arrived at the bocage in front of Neeps designated as a starting point of the assault towards the farmhouse.I managed to knock the AT gun with mortar and tank fire,so all is good so far.The preplanned arty strike already landed behind the bocage in front of Tatties,but seems like i misjudged it because there didn't seem to be enough enemy troops in that area to justify it.However,that seems to be a gap in the enemy defense which might be exploited.

[raz_atoth]

All those who don't hate arty strikes landing on your troops raise your hand.Nobody?Right!
I managed to previously dodge some mortar rounds falling on my left group with minimum casualties because i was lucky enough to see the spotting rounds.I wasn't so lucky on the right.Probably that area was zeroed by the enemy mortars.In any case,one of my platoons is caught under fire and i quickly lose half of it.



Fortunately,just one platoon was caught under mortar fire.Other 2 platoons were still marching towards the bocage and were safely away when the shells started landing.In any case,i gathered enough men to force the crossing to the next bocage while a squad will try to infiltrate on the right. The tanks are in overwatch providing cover fire.



The advance is going up just fine at this moment.Whatever troops the germans had behind the bocage i'm trying to reach-a HMG and one splitted squad,have been destroyed or suppressed by the tank fire.Thus,my troops managed to reach it almost unopposed.The squad on the right though,was cut by smg fire delivered by a squad previously undetected. A small price to pay,in the end,as the only remaining enemy units in that area is a FO team and another splitted squad which promptly retreated when the shooting begun.

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In the meantime,on the left,i decide-contrary to the initial plan-to advance 2 platoons towards Tatties.My preplanned arty strike or just shortage of men for the axis troops who couldn't cover that area,left a gap in their defense which i couldn't left unexploited.
My men reach the outskirts of Tatties and make contact with the remaining axis troops.I also order my tanks to advance towards the hamlet to support the infantry.Since panzershreks/panzerfausts can't be fired from inside the buildings they should be pretty much safe.



On the right,my infantry reaches the farm without any serious resistance.

[raz_atoth]

After the farmhouse is quickly cleaned of any resistance (a FO and the crew of a bunker knocked-out by my armor),i decide to move the infantry towards Tatties,in support of the tanks and the infantry already present there.En-route, i discover a trench with two 81mm mortars. No doubt,the same ones who kept harassing my advance with their shells.



A quick and vicious fight errupts with the mortar crews at the losing end.

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At the same time,i continue cleaning the houses from Tatties of any enemy resistance.The tanks were particularly helpful. One of my Churchills hits a mine field and gets immobilized in the process,which means i won't be able to use it in the next battles.
Out of nowhere,the german troops-decided they took enough of a pounding and waive the white flags.



I took more infantry casualties than i expected [77 men vs 65],but at least i learnt some precious lessons:
a) The british squad had less firepower than one might expect at a first glance. At close range,the germans will rule the field with their superior automatic fire. And if you're dealing with Waffen SS troops it's even worse.
b) The Churchills-especially those with 95mm guns can be quite effective at taking out enemy strongholds.
c) The 2inch mortar is less effective as i though

[enigma6584]

Great read! Thanks for doing this.

[raz_atoth]

2) The Road To Cheux

And let's continue with the second battle.
This one is called: The Road To Cheux

Seems like a small band of fanatical huns occupied Le Clos du Bernard (codenamed Pulpit) and i was given the dubious honor of driving them out. What troops do i have?Countless battalions? Hundreds of Shermans,you say? Two lousy platoons,one of which is severely depleted from the previous battle.All in one probably no more than one and a half full-strength platoons supported by the one remaining Churchill and a section of 81mm mortars. And if this isn't enough,i will only be resupplied after the fourth battle so i must keep a vigilant eye on the ammo expenditure.



The plan is to advance on the left as much as i can,then occupy the buildings west of Pulprit,then,finally,start clearing the objective.

[raz_atoth]

Three minutes into the battle i make contact with the enemy....A german sniper unit which doesn't give me to much warnings before putting a bullet in the head of one of my leading men.



The good news is it seems it's the only german unit defending the area so i should be able to advance rather smoothly.



My units continue to advance while providing covering fire (via target area).




This is quite a pesky sniper. It kills two other of my men,but in the end i manage to drive a squad in an universal carrier towards a gap in the bocage and flank the enemy unit.
End result: the two snipers are dead for the price of 3 of my own.

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With the sniper team gone,the next step is to occupy the buildings west of the objective.Again,i encounter light resistance-just a half squad-quickly killed by a 95mm HE shell delivered by my Churchill. Not before claiming the lives of my two scouts sent to investigate the building.God,i hate the german SMGs!



With that half-squad gone i occupy the complex and deploy my men for the assault on Pulpit.

[raz_atoth]

With my men deployed safely behind the bocage i have quite a nice overview of the hamlet...and the troops defending it... And the STUG supporting the defenders...



At this point i'm kinda stuck. My Churchill and it's 95mm gun has only HE and smoke shells so i can't risk it on a head to head encounter with the stug. My best chance is to engage the german AFV with Piats while trying to flank it with my tank.Probably,even a HE shell should do the trick if it hits the side of the stug. So,the infantry-already pounded with fire by the stug is called back,the piat teams brought farward,while the Churchill prepares for a flanking maneuver. A risky maneuver since the ground might be covered by panzershreks,but i don't really have much of a choice.



The plan went wrong after about...5 seconds. A HMG from inside a building killed the tank commander with a short burst. The crew quickly recovered and with two HE shells removed any opposition from inside that building. The worst was to come after the Churchill resumed the flanking move. It got stuck in a wooden fence and become immobilized. And this means i won't be seeing it in the next battle nor i would be able to flank the stug. There will be dark days ahead,apparently.

[raz_atoth]

Well,the plan didn't go wrong that much.Yes,my Churchill bogged down without having the chance to punch a hole through the side of the stug,yet the piat teams earned their paychecks.
After about 7-8 misses one shoot finally hits the assault gun. It proved to be enough as the stug was destroyed. Seems like the piats are more inaccurate than expected. The distance wasn't that great: 100m.



With the fight reduced to infantry vs infantry only and with only 3 minutes remaining i decide to ceasefire. I didn't considered i'll make any significant gains in only 3 minutes to justify the losses.It proved to be a wise decision. One of the few wise decisions i made in this campaign.

End result: Tactical victory

I lost 13 men vs the 19 men and a stug lost by the enemy.
My second Churchill got immobilized,too,so for all practical purposes i can consider it a loss too,since i won't be able to use it in the forthcoming battles.