My forces are moving to recapture the bridges over the Hamel river - if successful, I think that I will get a Tactical victory.
The battle in Hamelin is slowing down - again I think that the Soviets are running out of both units and ammo...
They are going to get another orders phase shortly after I'm done my this time - it will be interesting to see where they go - try to capture the bridge over the Weser or go back and fight for the bridges over the Hamel...
I will try to fight a couple of more order phases in the morning.
The length of time between orders for the soviets is dropping quickly, from 26 to 22 now to 21 and it was over 30 for a while. I'm guessing that this has to do with the ratio between units and HQs...
I decided not to push my luck with a counter attack on the VP location in the city centre. Just as well, as the Soviets had the better part of a Tk Bn in the centre of Hamelin.
I was pretty good at anticipating what needed to be done and getting orders out early.
It is really easy to wait too long to make a decision and if units have not received orders, it will take them a long time to react.
For example, the 21/4th Pz pl was doing a great job holding Grob Hilligsfeld and slowing down the soviet advance. But I timed their withdrawal well – they got out before the soviet Inf could close with them.
Once I realized how weak the Leopards are against the T-80s, I tried hard to stay out of direct fights between the Leos and the T-80s.
Swinging the 2/4th into the position south of the city worked very well – it helped to strip the soviets of their Inf and this helped later when I retook the bridges along the Hamel river. By the end the 22/4th had 37 kills and retook the VP location in Afferede – well done them.
The counterattacks to seize the VP locations in Afferde and along the Hamel river were well thought out and executed. In fact, they turned this into a victory. I saw an opportunity and took it.
My initial plan was okay, I followed my approach fairly well and defended forward of Hamelin for a good chunk of the scenario.
What could I improve on?
Making assumptions. I assumed early on that the soviets advance would be slower and led by recce elements – that lead to me having to restart…
It also affected my planning, I thought that I would have time to bring my reinforcements into position, before the wieght of the soviet advance threatened. I was wrong.
Reading the VP locations better, or maybe remembering them. I had completely forgotten that there was a VP location in the centre of Hamelin – and was a little confused when the soviets pushed that way around 1030. Looking back, I could have put one of the pl from the 2/66th on that VP location and the battle for it would have been interesting – to say the least.
Managing fire support – mainly around ammo. I did not notice as the arty ammo went down quickly. This meant that I had to order resupply at times when I did not want to. I should have used suppressive missions more frequently. As a gunner, I should know better…
Paying attention to detail
I accidently put an HQ unit of the 1/66th where I had intended to have a marder pl. This almost lead to disaster in Rohrsen around 0730 – when I first noticed it!
it was not until the 2/66th arrived that I realized they were not in Marders!
It was a fun challenging scenario – having three approaches to defend with so few resources was interesting.
I was caught off guard by the speed of advance of the soviets and it almost derailed my plan right away.
The soviet forces followed a doctrinal approach to the scenario, they bypassed the built up areas and forced me to react to that.
The balance of forces is really good – I would not have survived if BMPs replaced the BTRs…
I’m surprised that a Tk Bn halted east of Holtensen after securing the bridge (VP location). If it had continued its advance, I would have had some really tough decisions to make by 0800 and may have had to withdraw into Hamelin. As it was, I kept a force watching that approach, but it would only have been a road bump…
Now, I have to decide whether to try it again, with a modified plan, to see if I can do better or try a different scenario. I think that I will go for something new, and come back to this one later.
So we're at war with the Russkies eh?? I suppose we really ought to invade or something. (Lonnnng pause while studying the map)
Hmmmm... big place ain't it??
- Sir Harry Flashman (1854)
One thing to note is that you start with Leo1s on the map. They are not in the same league as the T-80s. The Leo2s that arrive later in the scenario are a very good match, but getting them in a good position is tough. In a knife fight you are trading tanks 1 to 1. And they have more tanks.[8D]
OTS is looking forward to Southern Storm getting released!
Cap'n Darwin aka Jim Snyder
On Target Simulations LLC
Thanks for the AAR! I had a good time visiting this post, reading the updates and wondering what would happen next...
One question: why didn't you drop (at least two out of three) bridges across the Hamel? It's something your HQ units could have done, and it would have helped you shape the battle and prevent surprises. In your analysis, you had identified the bridges and the benefits of dropping them.
Deathtreader, thanks I enjoyed the battle and posting how it went.
Capn Darwin, I had Leo2s??? Damn, I did not notice that at all. As I said, I need to pay more attention to the details. Not sure, I would have changed much during the battle though - there was not much to gain by taking on the T-80s directly. However, if I had realized it I might have tried to something different when they showed up. I went back and took a look at the situation when they arrived in Hamelin and I might have been able to push some of the T80s back across the Hamel river.
William, I'm glad you enjoyed the updates. As for your question, I got caught up in the game and forgot about the bridges... Taking one or two out would have been helpful in slowing down the soviets as they entered the city. You are correct, I mentioned it when I looked at the battlefield and I do not think that I thought about it afterwards at all. I could have easily placed my BN HQ on a bridge hex and taken it out.
I will tackle this one again in a bit. But, I want to try a new challenge. I think that I will stick with a small one. I'm going to try the Eyes, Ears and Teeth.
Thanks for the very nice compliment. I hope that you will enjoy my AAr for Eyes, Ears and Teeth. I`m not sure how well I`m going to do with this one. It is an interesting mix of troops and a neat mission...
