Carnage in the city. Non-ladder AAR

C

Cue-Ball

Guest
I'm playing a non-ladder game against a coworker. Our skill levels are pretty similar and the heavy city fighting caused this to be the most intense, fun game I've had in a long time. Thought you guys might enjoy an AAR and maybe offer some critiques.

Turn 1: We used the map from a package of 25 that I downloaded. It's heavily built-up city. Almost every single square is either a heavy building, a factory, or a street. There are a ton of large and small flags that go right across the center of the map. The setup zones on each side have a bulge in the middle which makes the flags in the middle of the map highly contested. The battle takes place in May of '45, so all of the big boys are available.

I've purchased four ISU-152s, three T-34/85s, and one SU-76 along with plenty of rifle platoons, and a smattering of Maxims and flamethrowers. My plan is to rush my men forward and try to take as many of the buildings circled in red as possible, then mow him down if he tries to cross the street. I'm pretty sure my opponent will have 4-7 Panthers and that he'll be covering each of the East-West lanes (yellow arrows). With their thick frontal armor, I can't beat the German armor in a face to face duel. Getting him from the side is my only chance. . Three T-34s at (2) will rush quickly to my right in an effort to get a clean line of fire from south to north. Hopefully I can pop him as he crosses the intersections. One ISU and one SU-76 will move forward along the only safe east/west route and find hiding spots in the garden areas of the city. I'm planning to hold these back and blow the hell out of any buildings that the Germans manage to take. My ISUs at (1) will be held back just out of sight until I can determine exactly where the enemy is coming from. I'd rather use them to take out buildings and infantry, but if the Germans bring as much armor as I think they will, these ISUs will probably end up on anti-tank duty.
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After only one minute things have erupted! As expected, the Germans brought 5 Panthers (that I know of). They are covering all of the east/west lanes, also as expected (except for the one safe lane that my "extra" SU and T-34 went up). My men have taken the three buildings in the center - which was my main goal for them - as well as a few outlier buildings. Unfortunately, the Germans have taken a couple as well (outlined in blue), and the one on my left is VERY difficult to get them out of since you must walk into the street in order to get into it. Of course, the Germans control those streets so there's no way I can get in. And my difficulties are compounded by the fact that my Maxims and flamethrowers are so slow. You can see them straggling behind the others.

My three T-34s have taken up positions overwatching the south/north road, but one of them has already been taken out by the Panther at far left. I've got two AFVs in a garden area with fairly clear lines of sight to the east, in case any Panthers pass through the intersections. My three ISU-152s and one SU-76 are still concealed off-screen.
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By the end of the third turn the Panther that killed my flanking T-34 has been dealt with. I moved my three ISU-154s (1) up about 60m and popped him right in the side. He was taking fire from one of the T-34s too (far right), so his attention was elsewhere. Unfortunately, one of the T-34s at the far right got spooked staring up the barrel of a Panther and decided to take a right turn and head east to "safety" (5). Unfortunately, he seemed to forget all about the other Panther that was there and is now starting him right in the face. My SU-76 at (2) is staying hidden from a Panther that is coming towards (blue circle). I've got another ISU (3) and T-34/85 (4) that are waiting for opportune shots.
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By the end of turn 4 AFVs are dying left and right. As expected, my T-34 that got spooked is now dead, having taken a Panther round from less than 100m (red X's at right). The surviving T-34/85 that's still there and functioning managed to take out the Panther as he emerged from the park and into the street (left). You can see one ISU-152 at lower left, preparing to shoot at the Panther that has gone out of sight (blue circle). There are three other 152s there also to back him up. The Panther has the rate of fire and penetration advantage, but I'll have 4:1 numerical superiority if I can time it right. My infantry are easily holding the buildings near the courtyard, but the buildings to the right have been taken over by German forces since my men had no MGs to support them.
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So I suppose Your opponent bought a platoon Panthers and not five times a single one. It would be interesting how many points the battle is and which experience level Your forces have. Furthermore what You suppose or know how the experience level of Your opponent is. But back to Panther problem! You should look for the best secured or the furthermost Panther. That´s to 99% his platoon leader. If You can rush and kill him with Your special tank forces all other Panthers lose an experience level. So they need longer reaction time, are more inaccurate and so on. Could help for the later game.
I think the fourth street from the left in Your second picture is secured by a AT-gun or perhaps even a 8.8 in the wood between the buildings. But only if that place was within the set uo zone. I suppose that because Your opponent did a lot for securing all other roads. So he wouldn´t let a gape in his MBL.
 
End of turn 6: Unfortunately, my timing wasn't very good. My hunt and scoot 'n' shoot orders for the first ISU overlapped which caused it to take a shot and then try to SnS. With the reload times on these big guns, that didn't work out too well. If I had used Fast instead of Hunt before the SnS order, I likely would have taken out the enemy's Panther. To compound my misery, the second ISU showed up and got LOS right as the Panther was finished reloading. Even unbuttoned, he didn't get sights on target until he'd already been KO'd. So, two ISUs down. The other two have been sent along the route indicated by the red arrow. I was hoping for a nice side shot on the nearest Panther, but my opponent has learned that going out into that road is a sure bet to get killed, so he's keeping his armor back. Next turn I'll try to maneuver around behind him. At the bottom of the screenshot you can see that I moved by SU-76 out of its hiding spot. It doesn't have any good shots at armor, but it should be able to shell the building on the corner where the Germans have massed. The ISU at (1) is moving up slowly to try to take out the Panther in the center of the map. Of all the enemy forces, that tank is the most dangerous since it has clear lines of fire to the only buildings I hold (and the ones with the most influence over the victory flags).
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I move my two ISUs up (at left) to try to get an angle on the leftmost Panther. Unfortunately, my opponent moves his Panther from the far right quickly and intercepts me at the big X in the park, taking out one of the ISUs. The second one, near the bottom of the park, takes fire from some infantry and backs up. On my right flank I move the last T-34 that was camped out on my flank quickly towards the center, hoping to take out the Panther in the middle. But due to a miscalculation on my part the tank gets there while his turret is still traversing and the Panther gets off the first shot. :( I move the T-34 that I had sitting between the buildings quickly up through the enemy lines. I get a perfect bead on the enemy Panther. He's facing away and his gun is over 90 degrees away from me. I shoot him in the rear... but it ricochets! He begins to turn his turret and hull towards me. My T-34/85 fires again and hits him square in the side from 275 meters... another ricochet! By the end of the turn it's a Mexican standoff with both of us facing one another. So now it's four on three (My SU-76 is just off screen at the bottom) with my opponent having the superior positions. Infantry on both sides are slowly being whittled away from fire, but neither of us are gaining any ground.
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Luck favors my T-34/85 and it kills the Panther at top with a side shot. I'm not sure why it took three shots to do the job, but I'm relieved none the less. Unfortunately, things aren't as good with my ISU at the bottom left. I give him orders to quickly position himself in the park for a side shot against one of the two remaining Panthers (orange arrow), but he only moves about 20 meters before a Panzershreck hits him right in the side. It's a close shot and an instant KO. Similarly, I send my SU-76 quickly forward for the perfect side shot on the Panther in the center. Bad luck for me that at the same exact moment my opponent decides to reverse that unit back up the road, which puts his gun in the perfect firing position against me. The SU is killed without getting off a shot. I had sent several groups of men into the building closest to the SU's final waypoint to prevent Panzerschreck/faust hits from taking it out. My attack is unsuccessful and everyone is either killed or driven off while the Germans maintain control of the building. Between this maneuver and the beating that my slower units have been taking as they try to advance into position, my infantry is being bled dry. All of my arty spotters have been killed and virtually all of my MGs and flamethrowers are either panicked/routed or dead. The Germans have just the right buildings to put fire on my men no matter which route they take to get into a favorable position.
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At this point we both know that the whole game comes down to armor. If one side can kill the other side's armor they will be in a much stronger position to shell buildings and, at the very least, drive out the occupiers if not attack and take the territory. So begins the biggest game of cat and mouse I've ever seen in a game of CM. The rectangles denote the starting position of vehicles for the turn and the screenshot shows the ending position.

I race my T-34 forward to try to take out the rightmost Panther with a stern shot. While I'm moving, the leftmost Panther does a Scoot 'n' Shoot maneuver, but his LOS is blocked thanks to the heavy smoke from a vehicle killed earlier. When I arrive at my position for my "perfect shot" I find that the Panther has driven West (down) to do the same thing to my ISU-152! I pull the exact same thing, having moved my ISU South (right). I didn't know my opponent was going to try to get around behind me, I was simply trying to get around behind him! We both very nearly lose armor this turn. I get a momentary LOS to his SnS Panther and his Panther that came around the bottom gets a momentary LOS to my ISU, but nobody had enough time to target since we were all moving on Fast.
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The same thing happens the following turn, with each of us trying to anticipate the others move and get into firing position. I send my ISU around the block, hoping that the Panther will pass from bottom to top (West to East) across my path. He does, but it happens before I'm in position. I back my T-34 up, planning to see if anything Scoot 'n' Shoots into my sights. It doesn't. However, the other Panther does appear. Not only that, but my opponent apparently thought I'd take the bait and go after the other tank, so when this one appears instead of him getting a rear shot on me, the tables are turned. My T-34 sends an 85mm shell right up the Panthers behind in the closing seconds of the replay. I can't tell if it's KO'd or not due to extreme fog of war, but chances are very good that he's dead.
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Assuming that the Panther in the intersection is dead (which it turned out to be, but my T-34 gave it an extra AP shot just in case), my main task now is to preserve my infantry and chase down the last Panther. Unfortunately, I don't have a line of sight to him so there's a bit of guesswork on my part about where he is, but more importantly: where he WILL be. My best guess is that he's somewhere near the blue circle and that he will try to follow the blue path the long way around the block. Even though he's got the superior gun and armor, he's out numbered and cannot see my ISU, which by now is quite far away (but he doesn't know that). So I figure that he's not going to try for a face to face shootout and will instead go the long way around. I decide to pursue along the red line, turning to face left (North) down the dirt road. If he's gone around I should get a nice side shot and if he's trying to ambush me I'll be ready to face him head-on.

My ISU will be sent North to hedge my bet against the Panther remaining where he is or heading North, away from my T-34. The ISU will be able to take a shot if he's still there and flank if he's gone North. If the Panther has gone the way I think he will then the ISU will be well positioned to shoot the buildings circled in blue where the German infantry has massed.
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The next turn (11?) things play out well for me. The enemy Panther goes exactly where I think he will and crosses right in front of my T-34. He's on fast so I don't get off a shot, but I pepper him with MG fire and now I know exactly where he is and which direction he's going. However, I almost lose my T-34 when a Panzerfaust is launched in the first few seconds of the turn (blue circle). If my tank had waited even 2 more seconds, it would have been hit for certain.
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I know where the Panther is and he knows where I am. My guess is that he'll continue on his current path, but will set an armor cover arc to his rear to catch me as I come around the corner after him. I don't want to be caught moving with his gun pointing my direction, so I decide to cut through the dirt road and head him off. If my timing is good I should be able to either get a side shot as he comes around the corner or get a rear shot if he makes a left towards the top of the map.

My plan works perfectly! After a short command delay my T-34 races through the woods along the dirt road. Just as he reaches the far end the Panther comes into view, maneuvering around the corner. The Panther is moving too fast to get off an AP shot, but a long burst of fire from my MG kills the commander and shocks the crew. They panic and stop to get their bearings as my T-34 comes to the end of its movement order. It fires twice from under 40 meters and both shots tear through the Panther's side. The enemy's last AFV is finally dead! I nearly stood up and cheered when the rounds hit home.
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At this same time my ISU has moved into the same position where his comrades were taken out early in the game. I plan to hammer on the corner building where the Germans are camped out, trying to prevent me from getting the big flag. I desperately need to hold the large flag here if I want to achieve victory with points, but my ISU only has about 12 rounds of HE and the extreme angle means that many of them miss their target and land in the street.
GvJ_city_13.png
 
Now that the enemy's final tank has been taken care of I send my T-34 to the North side of the map to try to flush the Germans out of the buildings in that area. There are simply too many enemy infantry in the southern buildings and I don't have enough men to cover him, but I figure the area to the north will be a bit safer. I'm dead wrong.

My T-34 rushes through the town on high speed and makes a large hook to the left along the red line. My plan is to pull into the square near the buildings that I control, then back into the pocket there (purple arrow) and shell the buildings the enemy is holding (yellow arrows). Bad luck for me... there's a Panzerschreck in one of the buildings marked in blue. He takes one shot and it goes right through the rear of the turret. My T-34 coasts to a stop at the yellow square.
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Even though it's only turn 17 of a 30+ turn game, I throw in the towel and offer a ceasefire. My opponent apparently has the same idea since the game ends the very next turn. I have enough infantry to hold several buildings and flags, but not enough to make an assault and drive the enemy out. My T-34 is KO'd and my sole remaining armor asset, my ISU-152, only has a few AP rounds remaining so he's no use. The enemy is in a similar condition with entrenched troops that have little to no ammo and plenty of shocked and panicked squads from my HE barrage. In the end the game ends up being an exact 50/50 draw. I hold some flags, the enemy holds some, and our casualties were very similar. Not sure if it came across in the post or not, but this was probably the most exciting game of CMBB I've ever played. There were so many turns where things went very badly (picture me yelling "Noooooooo!" like Darth Vader at the end of Episode III) and so many turns where I was jumping out of my seat when a unit took out a Panther or mowed down some advancing infantry.

Here's the final map and tally:
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SU 152 against Panther = no good... the 152 are for infantry support and blowing up buildings. To be used as the Brummbär on the german side.

SU 85 or SU 100 are real tank hunters.

PS : nice and interesting AARs
 
I bought the 152s to use for taking down buildings, but ended up having to employ them in an anti-tank role when I lost a few key pieces of armor early. The 152s aren't great at AT, but they work well enough when you can employ them right.

Having performed subsequent armor vs. building tests, I probably won't bother with buying the 152s ever again (at least, not for urban combat in heavy buildings and factories).
 
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