This is the final part of the AAR I re-took on Saturday. In a textbook case of "overstaying at a battle position", the tank platoons are flanked by remnants of the Soviet armored thrust. Time to move out!
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| Tanks of the 2nd. Platoon (background) successfully engage some T-72s that made it through the central avenue of approach of our sector. |
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| The 1st Platoon gets on the move too, but towards the rear. Under some pressure, they engage at very close range some tenacious Soviet BMP-2s that keep moving forward. |
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| The 2nd Platoon, which by now is down to just two fully operational tanks is ordered to move northwest with the purpose of eliminating any enemy remnants moving through the center of our sector. A couple of T-72s are engaged and destroyed. |
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| The 1st Platoon reached its new battle position at full speed and oriented its guns on the most prominent avenue of approach (a paved road that also crosses the southern part of our sector from east to west). A pair of T-72s engaged the 1st Platoon's battle position from the flanks (see white puff of smoke in the background), but were destroyed shortly thereafter. |
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| An enemy's perspective view of the 1st Platoon's new battle position (hill in the background, tanks are deployed at both sides of the paved road), showing a T-72 destroyed by an armor piercing round. The T-72 has its gun oriented to the back of the hull, probably trying to fire a coup de grâce round to an immobilized M1A1 that remained at the previous battle position. |
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| The 2nd Platoon, having cleared the center of our sector, is ordered to dash towards the rear in an effort to chase the BMP-2 that has been previously spotted making it through to our rear. During this mad dash, my forces suffered the most humiliating loss I ever witnessed in this simulation: an M1A1 tank lost to an BRDM-2 equipped with ATGMs. |
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| The infiltrator BMP-2 turned out to be a two vehicle team. In this picture, the two HMMWVs that located (but off course couldn't engage) the infiltrators. |
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| The scenario ends whenever an enemy vehicle makes it to our rear. In this image, the two BMP-2s that costed us the battle a few seconds before the scenario's end. |
Seventeen minutes short of our objective time (prevent any enemy vehicle/team making it to our rear for one hour), the scenario ends.
My losses:
| Total losses - tanks: | 45% | (5 out of 11) |
| Total losses - PCs: | 40% | (6 out of 15) |
| Total losses - troops: | 21% | (10 out of 46) |
| Total losses - Others: | 0% | (0 out of 4) |
The enemy's losses (sorry for the horrible formatting of the table, it is just taken from the sim's combat report):
Cheers,
8 comments:
so close and yet so far. almost a victory... good try though. finally a game for the fulda gap that does not end in a draw.
Then again I have seen a soviet victory before. great game and finally an ARR for this that is not in miniature.
The Humvees, if armed with M2HB, would have been able to destroy the BMPs if they engaged from the flank; the flanks are not proof against 12.7x99mm ammunition or, if they had Mk.19s, 40mm HEDP. Now, granted, this is only workable if the BMPs are flank aspect on already: the 30mm autocannon or even just the coax will dissuade you from being ungracious otherwise.
Great AAR JC! Now that I've been re-bitten by the modern warfare bug, I'm going to have to give this scenario a try.
Don't feel too bad about the BRDM smoking your tank - I've had all sorts of humble units equipped with ATGMs cause armor casualties like that. At least it was a vehicle with missiles and not some scrub infantry with a recoiless.
Thanks for the comments and advice, fellows.
I didn't know the Humvees could have engaged the BMPs. :) I want to try that now!
Hi Doug. LOL. But it still hurts my tanker's pride. :)
Was this played against the AI or was it multiplayer? The game looks amazing but my schedule doesn't allow multiplayer...
Erich,
Against the AI. Unless specifically noted, all my AARs are against the AI.
Cheers,
Great AAR and, yes, this is one of the toughest single player Steel Beasts missions out there; after two years playing the sim I've never managed to successfully complete it. I think it needs more pre-mission planning and scripting than I've been prepared to put in to date. Your write up is tempting me to reconsider that though...
That's great to hear it's vs AI! I just don't have (and never will) the schedule to accommodate anything else. I assume there's quite a lot of WW3-type "Cold War" scenario's out there?
It's the only period I can get excited about using modern hardware. Every other option seems to be a glorified "police action".
I mean, Combat Mission Shock Force is set in Syria, which certainly (now) seems quite topical, but does anyone have the slightest doubt what would happen if one of our armored brigades went up against, well *anything* that Syria (noted armor experts that they are - tongue firmly in cheek) had to offer?
Not exactly like going up against the Soviets at their high tide...
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