Combat Mission Black Sea - Firefight - AAR

This is an scenario from the Battle Pack 1 DLC. A meeting engagement pitying mechanized forces from Russia and the Ukraine. I played this scenario solo as the Russians.

My initial moves as the Russian forces already plotted (yellow lines), I will secure that central campground before the Ukrainians get a foothold on it.

Given the terrain layout, getting into real cover (the mid campground) instead of just interdicting the enemy from the concealment of the forest patches appears to be a risk worth taking.

Yeah, I have to admit it: dashing forward may have been too risky. But I could not afford letting the Ukrainian forces to gain a foothold on the middle campground.

As soon as my IFVs got on the edges of the campground, contact was established. An Ukrainian vehicle (blue icon, background) gets it.

Disembark! Note how my orders for the squad include the "hide" command. With enemy IFVs lurking around, the least I want is my infantry making themselves a juicy target.

I didn't use smoke either for the dismounting of my troops. I know the Ukrainians are on the move and I want them targeted without interruption.

This was very unfortunate. One of my BMPs in our left flank got trashed by an Ukrainian IFV (BMP-2?). I was a bit careless not assigning this vehicle a suitable field of fire.

I took the orphan (i.e. vehicle-less from the last IFV loss) squad and took it for trip along the right flank. Under the watch of an IFV, their move was not threatened by anybody.

And soon I moved another IFV in support. The Ukraine forces (blue icons) are in solid control of the left flank built up area.

And from there, I let my IFVs loose in a hook movement from our right flank.

My infantry had some delays catching up with the IFVs. The two vehicles cooperated quite well with each other, blasting the wooden patch between the campground and the built up area in the left. Note the RPG flying over the IFV in the background. Unable to identify the source of that rocket, I was forced to withdraw the IFV after that. 

But the second IFV withdrawal didn't stop me from sending the first one, conspicuously threading on the road and dispatching two enemy BMPs.

By this time I was confident enough to send an additional IFV in support of the road-bound one. Unfortunately, the built up area was harboring some dismounts armed with RPGs and good aim or just dumb luck. In this screenshot, my second IFV burns to the keel after being struck.

Our response was devastating. Our cannon rounds were merciless.

The enemy was hiding and seemingly firing rockets from every window and balcony.

It was time to put boots on those buildings. In this screenshot, a dismounted assault with IFV fire support from our left flank. These were troops I kept in reserve near the deployment area.

A similar dismounted assault from our right flank was met with enemy resistance. But the enemy control of this built up area had summarily ended.

By this time, the enemy was showing a lack of will to fight. A couple of enemy survivors showed their hands up.

And then the battle ended with a total victory for our side. I wish I had been more careful with my IFVs, but this is a victory I can live with.

The troops' positions at the end of battle.

Cheers,