Death Ride of the 6th (Drifter Man vs Gorst)
This battle reminded me of the scenario "Death Ride of the 424" in the old CM Barbarossa to Berlin, where your task was to take a company of King Tigers through a Soviet-held village in a fog in just 15 minutes.
The deployment phase screenshot above shows the plan. I was aware that in just 30 minutes, I couldn't hope to take the infantry through the woods and destroy an enemy battalion, battling all the way to the objective. I had to break through the Soviet line with armor, quickly take the objective zone, which was in open ground, and defend it against an infantry counterattack. I chose a force of 7 Panthers (all Green) supported with a firing plan that used no fewer than 6 batteries. Their purpose was to suppress the enemy defenses for several critical minutes while I am rolling along the path marked by yellow arrows above. I chose the longer one over other alternatives because I considered it least likely to be mined. I did not bring infantry: Initial plans considered infantry on halftracks, but tests showed that they would die very quickly from AT rifle fire, plus I would be risking blocking of the forest path by bogged vehicles if I had too many. Leg infantry would take too long to move anywhere where it would be useful. So, I ended up having a pure armor force.
Artillery:
[a] (2x 81mm, heavy barrage) was to head off the anticipated Soviet counterattack on the first turn, which threatened to entrap my Panthers on the narrow forest path.
[b.] (2x 81mm, light barrage) was to suppress enemy infantry and protect the right flank of my Panthers while rolling through near the left edge of the map.
[C]-[E] (3x 150mm, heavy, anti-personnel) targeted likely areas where the Soviet AT defenses would be located.
All in all, it was a decent plan, but its main weakness was that my opponent was also aware of my limited options, and prepared appropriately. As a result, the 6th Panzer was doomed before the battle even began. Gorst arrived with a full rifle battalion (3 companies including SMG troops, MG, and 9 Panzerfaust teams) supported by six 57mm antitank guns. All his troops were also Green. There was enough infantry to grind an infantry attack to a halt in the 30 minutes that were available, and enough AT guns to stop the plan I was preparing. Two of the AT guns were placed in a bend of the forest road, which I did not take. The remaining four (1)-(4) covered the left side of the map that I was coming through.
The effect of artillery was disappointing. Guns (2) and (3) were directly under 150mm fire. Gun (1) was close enough to the target line of strike [E] and had no cover whatsoever, sitting in the middle of the road. None were affected, only "suppressed somewhat", as my opponent put it. Strike [a] indeed stopped a Soviet counterattack and [b.], [E] and [F] ruffled the feathers of some infantry. It seems that [C] and [D] only hit empty woods.
About two minutes in, with artillery shells exploding on all sides, my Panther column arrived at the end of the forest path. Guns (1) and (2) opened up, killing the leading two vehicles, while enemy infantry could be seen moving into the woods on my left flank. The remaining Panthers returned fire and managed to knock out the guns - or maybe it was the artillery. About five minutes in, I ordered the column to continue, taking the shorter path marked by the arrows below. The artillery cover was running out and I did not know what could be hiding in the woods around me. So, I decided to rush ahead.
I had hopes that my opponent would not have a second line of AT defense. 3-4 tanks on the objective would still be enough to defend it. But he did have a second line, and once I reached the field of fire of guns (3) and (4), my Panthers were quickly getting knocked out. Gun (4) was neutralized, but (3) survived everything and was the last gun standing when I ran out of tanks on Turn 11.
I still have a bit of a bitter feeling that I was sent on a hopeless mission, but hey - the pitch for the tournament said that exactly this might be the case. My opponent read the map well and ensured that I had no path to victory. Fortune, which might have opened a window by letting some shells drop in the right places, did not favor my bold plan. I just did my best, and the 6th Panzer died on the road near Tolna.
This battle reminded me of the scenario "Death Ride of the 424" in the old CM Barbarossa to Berlin, where your task was to take a company of King Tigers through a Soviet-held village in a fog in just 15 minutes.
The deployment phase screenshot above shows the plan. I was aware that in just 30 minutes, I couldn't hope to take the infantry through the woods and destroy an enemy battalion, battling all the way to the objective. I had to break through the Soviet line with armor, quickly take the objective zone, which was in open ground, and defend it against an infantry counterattack. I chose a force of 7 Panthers (all Green) supported with a firing plan that used no fewer than 6 batteries. Their purpose was to suppress the enemy defenses for several critical minutes while I am rolling along the path marked by yellow arrows above. I chose the longer one over other alternatives because I considered it least likely to be mined. I did not bring infantry: Initial plans considered infantry on halftracks, but tests showed that they would die very quickly from AT rifle fire, plus I would be risking blocking of the forest path by bogged vehicles if I had too many. Leg infantry would take too long to move anywhere where it would be useful. So, I ended up having a pure armor force.
Artillery:
[a] (2x 81mm, heavy barrage) was to head off the anticipated Soviet counterattack on the first turn, which threatened to entrap my Panthers on the narrow forest path.
[b.] (2x 81mm, light barrage) was to suppress enemy infantry and protect the right flank of my Panthers while rolling through near the left edge of the map.
[C]-[E] (3x 150mm, heavy, anti-personnel) targeted likely areas where the Soviet AT defenses would be located.
All in all, it was a decent plan, but its main weakness was that my opponent was also aware of my limited options, and prepared appropriately. As a result, the 6th Panzer was doomed before the battle even began. Gorst arrived with a full rifle battalion (3 companies including SMG troops, MG, and 9 Panzerfaust teams) supported by six 57mm antitank guns. All his troops were also Green. There was enough infantry to grind an infantry attack to a halt in the 30 minutes that were available, and enough AT guns to stop the plan I was preparing. Two of the AT guns were placed in a bend of the forest road, which I did not take. The remaining four (1)-(4) covered the left side of the map that I was coming through.
The effect of artillery was disappointing. Guns (2) and (3) were directly under 150mm fire. Gun (1) was close enough to the target line of strike [E] and had no cover whatsoever, sitting in the middle of the road. None were affected, only "suppressed somewhat", as my opponent put it. Strike [a] indeed stopped a Soviet counterattack and [b.], [E] and [F] ruffled the feathers of some infantry. It seems that [C] and [D] only hit empty woods.
About two minutes in, with artillery shells exploding on all sides, my Panther column arrived at the end of the forest path. Guns (1) and (2) opened up, killing the leading two vehicles, while enemy infantry could be seen moving into the woods on my left flank. The remaining Panthers returned fire and managed to knock out the guns - or maybe it was the artillery. About five minutes in, I ordered the column to continue, taking the shorter path marked by the arrows below. The artillery cover was running out and I did not know what could be hiding in the woods around me. So, I decided to rush ahead.
I had hopes that my opponent would not have a second line of AT defense. 3-4 tanks on the objective would still be enough to defend it. But he did have a second line, and once I reached the field of fire of guns (3) and (4), my Panthers were quickly getting knocked out. Gun (4) was neutralized, but (3) survived everything and was the last gun standing when I ran out of tanks on Turn 11.
I still have a bit of a bitter feeling that I was sent on a hopeless mission, but hey - the pitch for the tournament said that exactly this might be the case. My opponent read the map well and ensured that I had no path to victory. Fortune, which might have opened a window by letting some shells drop in the right places, did not favor my bold plan. I just did my best, and the 6th Panzer died on the road near Tolna.
