The 2nd Armored Campaign

[Ricky B]

Gregor and I have started up the 2nd Armored Campaign. Gregor suggested writing up our play in an AAR, which I think will be both entertaining (I hope) and educational since this is a new feature.

To start, we opened the Campaign engine rather than the regular main program. From here, choosing the 2nd Armored campaign, I set it up as Play by Email, and I am playing the US 2nd Armored forces with supporting US forces.

The campaign then asks me where to start (the beginning of course) and offers 2 choices for how I want to approach the first battle.

Situation: the 101st Airborne forces have taken Carentan and secured the road network link between Utah and Omaha beaches. However, Carentan is exposed to a counterattack and reports are coming in that the Fallschirmjaegers that were pushed from the town are expecting reinforcements from the 17th SS Panzergrenadier division and a counterattack could be expected. Portions of my 2nd Armored are being moved up to support the airborne troopers that are worn out by a week of fighting. I have the choice of attacking early, with just the airborne forces in place, before the SS arrive, or wait for some of the 2nd Armored reinforcements before taking action.



In this case, I choose to attack early, and gain a bit of ground before the enemy attack strikes. Although the paras are tired, the Fallschirmjaegers they face should be at least as fatigued and not ready to fight. This will allow my armored forces more room to deploy and prepare for action.

After this choice, the campaign is saved and sent off to my opponent for his decision on how to approach the battle.

Rick

[ComradeP]

Good luck, this should be an interesting read.

What's interesting about the strategic choices in Carentan is that an early US attack nullifies the potential German reinforcements they would get from the Germans Hold choice. II./SS PzG Regiment 37 will never appear if the Americans attack early.

[Strela]

Good luck, this should be an interesting read.

What's interesting about the strategic choices in Carentan is that an early US attack nullifies the potential German reinforcements they would get from the Germans Hold choice. II./SS PzG Regiment 37 will never appear if the Americans attack early.

That's an example of the potential of the campaign system.

Rick is the expert on campaign creation, but we didn't have as much time as we would have liked to create more content. This is an area I'd love to spend more time.

The same thing works in variable scenarios which is a standalone campaign situation.

I expect us to use the campaign engine a lot more in the third title in the series.

David

[Ricky B]

Yes, I had ideas for other uses too, in particular fighting actual different battles based on the decisions made, rather than simply tactical differences. David is great with this stuff and I am sure will be able to come up with some great campaign layouts next time. I do have a layout for one in Normandy that I never got to, that I will probably work on soon but it won't be ready for awhile, with testing of the individual scenarios needed. And if we can carry over losses/add replacements from one to the next, which may or may not happen, that would be perfect.

Rick

[GerryM]

Yes, I had ideas for other uses too, in particular fighting actual different battles based on the decisions made, rather than simply tactical differences. David is great with this stuff and I am sure will be able to come up with some great campaign layouts next time. I do have a layout for one in Normandy that I never got to, that I will probably work on soon but it won't be ready for awhile, with testing of the individual scenarios needed. And if we can carry over losses/add replacements from one to the next, which may or may not happen, that would be perfect.

Rick

I think it is a great idea. I used to play ASL and one of my favorite experiences was playing their historical modules like Operation Veritable and Red Barricades. Having to preserve your forces from campaign date to campaign date really adds another level to the play. Panzer Battles in Stalingrad???

[Gregor]

I have been looking forward to play a campaign against another player since I first saw this new feature. And playing it against one that have been with the development for years are great.

I load the campaign file .cpf file Rick sent me and get the following options


I opt for the historic one. The only way the Germans can have any hope in slowing the Americans down is to prevent them linking up properly. This is also the high reward option for the Germans, but also with the highest risk. If the Americans go for the historic option too they will probably have an edge, but if they attack early they will have a hard time early in the scenario.

The result is


It seems like the Germans will surprise an aggressive American force and we are ready for an epic battle for Carentan.

[Ricky B]

Game turn 1. The advance begins, in the dark. No Germans are visible as my forces kick off their advance. I order the men to push to the west to enlarge the perimeter around Carentan. Without more space, there won't be room for the 2nd Armored forces to deploy upon their arrival.

Rick

[Gregor]

The plan:

Before I start playing a scenario I always try to form a plan for my actions. As I have the orders to attack and the enemy should be weaker in the start of the game I am going for a full attack early.

Another good reason for the early attack is the night turn. In most Normandy scenarios the Allied have a lot of air support and that can be devastating for units moving in travel mode to the front. I therefore plan to use this first turn to move in travel mode along the roads with as much troops as possible. As the sight is limited in the next turn too, dawn, I will be able to end turn in travel mode without risking being spotted and taking too much artillery fire in return. Other times I usually try to switch to deployed at the end of turn to prevent the damaging return fire from artillery of other sources at my travel mode units.

Then to the actual plan. If there should be any hope to take back Carentan I need to control the hill 30 and the rest of the hills to the south-west. Especially the 7 hexes marked with red circles will enable control of the open ground south and west of the town and the ones close to la Billonnerie will enable fire support directly into Carentan itself. Remembering that high ground gives a nice bonus the fighting for the higher ground is usually intense in PzB and controlling the hills are important as it were in the real fight. The posison on the hill will control the bridges and make the American reinforcement of Carentan more costly.

To take the hill I send the 37th PzGr reg to take Donville and the area close by and the 38th PzGr reg are attacking along the main road to the South-East. The FJ reg 6 is wore down by earlier fighting, but will support in the attack except the most heavy fatigued ones that will rest for as long as possible to get to green fatigue again. Fatigue is what prevent you driving your troops much harder than historically and the fighting effectiveness is fast dropping with increasing fatigue.
The StuGs (close to 40) and about 10 Marders and other support will move forward alongside 38th regiment and help secure the hill and eventually engage any armored counterattacks  by the Americans.

Unfortunately I don't have a end of turn picture as I forgot to take the picture before I ended the turn. In standard games that is OK as the window stays open but in the campaign the widow is closed and the game returns to the campaign window. Mainly the move made contact with a few elements in the fields south west of Donville. Else there were mostly full speed move along the roads to get the troops into the fight as soon as possible.

[Ricky B]

Turn 2:

Dawn is breaking while the 101st Airborne moves west. As the skies lighten, the paratroopers find that the Fallschirmjaegers they are facing are on the move toward them, and the rumored SS forces are supporting them.



As only a small portion of the US forces are free to move at this point, running into advancing Germans could mean trouble. Holding the high ground is important - if the Germans take the hill positions overlooking Carentan, it will become very difficult to deploy the 2nd Armored as the town will be packed with the airborne troops.

This is a small battlefield for what will add up to 2 regiments of US forces, and dominated by the hill/ridge running east-west. Time for the 101st to dig their heels in and slow down the German advance.

Rick

[Gregor]

AxisTurn 2:
This is the position in the south at the start of turn 2. PzGr reg 38 are all located in the area around the southern VP location and I decide to push hard forward. Using travel mode also within line of sight to get the best position for the next turns offensive. I prioritize speed as that often are the critical thing in the scenarios. The downside are the casualties that is alarming already. Having lost close to 200 men in this turn alone. One bright thing is that my engineer managed to clear the mines at the primary road NW of the obstacle.

In the norther part of the fight one of my travel mode recon troops got caught between turns and got some artillery fire, but survived as the fire was limited. PzGr reg 37 are ready just north of the center of this picture and will storm the hill, it will be costly as I will need to use travel mode and no smoke are available. But I gamble that it will pay off by getting the defenders of balance and hopefully surround some of them… You can also observe the columns of StuGs and support along the main road. Still move them in travel mode this turn, and get hit by some air, but only loose one StuG. I will not move any more troops or vehicles in travel mode if not urgent for the rest of the scenario as that is quite dangerous during day with the allied air superiority. Guns must use travel mode as they can’t move by other means.


This is the victory dialog and the position at turn end. As seen the casualties are quite high, but I have reached the defensive line and have put it under high pressure, probably ensuring some real headache for the defender. He must now decide to stand and die to slow me down or try to withdraw and hope to form a line further back. To my experience the hugest losses that hurts the most are when troops are surrounded and disrupted. They then surrender in large numbers when assaulted. To ensure environment for such surroundings are important on the offensive and speed is often important.  For the defender it’s the other way around, ensure a solid line and the ability to withdraw when the pressure becomes too high. The StuGs are in position in the south and the AA are distributed close behind the lines to try fight of the air attacks that will surly come.