J38 – BITTER DEFENCE AT OTTA
JP attacking as the Germans
Legion defending as the British
ROAR (G:B – 9:2) – 8th April, 2007
Hmm… nice game, bits of everything and plenty of time to achieve it. I only have to cross the length of one board and I have 14 turns to do it in. Unfortunately that board is board 2 and he has foxholes, a HMG and MMG as well as an AT gun and 76* MTR which will probably all be on the level 3 hill to dominate the battle.
THE PLAN
I have divided my force into 3 groups:
GROUP 1
4 squads and both Ski squads as well as a 9-1 leader, 2 LMG’s and one Lt tank will enter around GG4-8 with the tank moving to 2BB10 to put fire on the level 3 ridge – unless he has his MTR or AT gun in LOS, it will then have to bypass some woods to get into the action but this is such a “dead end” that I doubt he will have any effective anti-tank weaponry ranged on this part of the board. The rest of group 1 will cross hill 538 (which is a level 1 woods for this game by SSR) and clear out the area with a view to putting fire on the level 3 hills. The Ski squads will go to 2X1 where they will don their Ski’s and be ready to move quickly along board 2 if a good opportunity presents itself.
GROUP 2
7 squads, both MMG’s 3 LMG’s a 9-2 and 9-1 as well as a Lt tank will enter on board 5 and clear out the big forest area (5M3 etc.) as I expect him to have a light screening force there and clear any roadblocks along the forest road to allow my tank to get into the action on his left flank (where it will probably get blown up by his AT gun or an AT rifle….) I will also move the 9-2 ldr, 2 squads and both Mediums into 2T1 to put fire on the hill top as well. This is an important hex as it has not only a +2 TEM but is the only piece of cover that is not a forest and therefore will not get a –1 airburst from his Mortar.
GROUP 3: 2 squads and an 8-0 leader will CX their way across row ‘10’ on board 5 with a view to getting into the W9 gully and then moving up the board to threaten to exit at board 2 and/or attack board 2 from the rear – these guys are just doing this to make him spread his troops out to cover the threat and I don’t mind if they never get into the action for earnest – it’s a threat he will have to act upon.
WATER GROUP
I also get 6 squads of troops with boats that have to cross the river on board 7 – which is suicide. I elected to enter them in Zone 2 (Hexes Q-W) and I will use them in a different manner than expected. 2 squads, a LMG and an 8-1 leader will use the cover of the forest on the islands (all marsh is woods – SSR) to land on the O5 island and they will move to Q7 where they can put fire on the level 3 ridge and block his escape rout along row Q on board 2. 2 other squads will lurk in boats behind the same island to threaten to land and the other 2 squads and leader will move across the land and launch in the safety of the inlet at BB2 where they can move across the river once his weapons on the ridge line have been nullified. Once again, these guys are a threat and he will have to detail someone to cover them.
IT ALL COMES TOGETHER
I want everyone to reach their firing positions at the same time to spread out his return fire and give me the best chance of taking out his fire groups. He only has a dozen squads so I feel that the ridge line will be the lynchpin of his defence and once I get that taken out I can start a battle of movement. Of very important note is his Mortar’s limited range, its minimum range is six hexes so if I can get to within 5 or less hexes it is no longer the potent threat that it is at range (especially with the –1 airburst and my troops coming through forest..) once I am close enough he will have to abandon it as a manhandled weapon (M11) wont be able to out run infantry.
TURNS 1 AND 2
He has nobody (yet) on the level 3 hills but I expect the AT gun and MTR to be there, it seems he has 2 firegroups which are probably the MG’s in the level 2 hexes 2U4 and 2T6. I entered my troops and sure enough his heavy weaponry was on the level 3 hills and they fired for no damage. I was able to CX my MMG group and advanced into the 2Z1 building still concealed. In his turn he prep fired at my MMG group for no damage and moved a few squads just to re-align his defence. In turn 2 I saw an opportunity to surround one of his squads in the forest at 5M4 and I sent 5 squads there to surround him where they all got severely re-buffed with 2 breaking and the other 2 pinning (this unit was supported by 2 squads in 5N6). He survived the advance fire and pulled them back in his turn 2 but I am glad to see that he has put 3 squads here and I shall make every effort to ensure they do not leave the forest. He was able to K/ one of the MMG squads which routed out and the leader later broke leaving a pinned squad and MMG for my defensive fire. On a positive note my sniper killed his 8-1 leader so he is now down to 3 leaders and only one of them has a negative modifier.
TURNS 3 AND 4
Everybody rallied and I am going to consolidate a little bit, I moved all my troops to positions where they can not be seen by his ordnance and MG’s and will gain concealment so all can assault move into positions in turn 4, this will give me 3 firegroups thus spreading his fire and ensuring some effective return fire. The MMG group managed 2 shots at him before they broke or pulled back but I rolled a 6,4 both times for no result. I took a minor chance and scooted a tank down the forest road (he had one of the hexes in his AT guns LOS but it had to rotate etc so was a safe option). It is currently in the forest along with 7 squads. In his turn 3 he pulled back the 3 squads in the forest but made the mistake of leaving one of them on the road where I will Overrun him and freeze sleaze in my turn (assuming it is not behind a roadblock…I have not found any yet.) He also pulled a stack from 2S1 across to 5T1 and then moved some board 2 troops into 2S1 so my plan is working and he is stretching out his defence. As it turned out he did have a roadblock in the forest road (stupid not to…) so my tank BFF’ed and broke one of his squads there, I moved four squads to one hex away and advanced them into 4 separate but adjacent to his 3 squads hexes. I left a half squad in an acquired MTR hex to entice him to fire at it in defensive instead of acquiring one of the hexes I will advance into. (a piece of bait that he took…for a break result.) In my advance I moved my concealed units into the firing line, I have 16FP and a 9-1 ldr within 4 hexes of his MMG stack, a 9-2, 2 squads and 2 MMG’s in LOS of the MMG stack and the AT gun and MTR on level 3. A 467, LMG and 9-1 are in LOS of the MMG stack and 3 squads are spread out adjacent to each other across the front of the board 5 forest hexes. His prep fire and, although the AT gun ROFed 3 times it was unable to strip my MMG stacks concealment, his MTR ROF’ed 3 times at the same target and eventually broke my 9-2 and a 467 squad with MMG (it fated and ELR’ed on a 6,6) with the other squad pinning. In his movement he pulled back from the tank and its four squads and also pulled what I assume must be his HMG group (was proved correct later when it moved onto a level 3 hill hex).
TURN 5 & 6
My boats finally arrived and I can start a flanking move (of a kind…) I will still be putting 2 squads a LMG and an 8-1 leader on the island but will try to rush the other 4 squads across the river as his ordnance and HMG will be busy holding back my troops. My prep was not brilliant other than breaking his MMG stack which has finally created a crack in his defence. I moved squads into the roadblock hex with the intention of doing clearance rolls. His turn 5 produced little of note other than the re-enforcing of the broken MMG stack and a general re-settling of his line. My defensive did nothing and, although I have now fired at his MTR half a dozen times for about 4 +1 or std MC’s and it still has not broken. My turn 6 prep was a non-event and I moved my second tank into the roadblock area for when they are both finally free to move into his left flank. I ran a guy across the S2 road to advance adjacent his broken MMG stack and good order squad with the intention of re-dm’ing the broken guys and hoping to pass prep fire, I also moved a 467 LMG and 9-1 into a hex with LOS to these units. His MTR scored a 2,1 in a forest hex and, combined with the –1 airburst it killed a 9-1 leader and the squad died on the LLMC too (these are not the ones with LOS to the broken MMG stack). His MTR scored a critical hit on 2 of my squads in the forest on board 2 and both died, although he had re-located his HMG to the level 3 hills (2O5) they fired for no result, he did, however, break my squad that was adjacent to his broken MMG stack. My defensive ended up being good even though my MMG stack scored a MC on his MTR which it passed (again…give these guys the Military medal…) my 9-1, squad and LMG broke the quad and a half that were stacked with the broken MMG units so my broken guy adjacent will be able to rout away instead of being taken prisoner. I also cleared the roadblock so next turn my tanks can run rampant and do freeze sleaze moves. The last shot of the phase was a 4+1 shot at his HMG group which scored a NMC and both the leader and squad failed so it finally looks like I can force a hole through his line and put him on the run, all I need to do in my next turn is break his MTR unit and the chase is on.
TURNS 7 & 8
These 2 turns were where the game was won, I had been slowly applying more pressure and things had to crack. My prep fire scored a KIA on his MTR crew and also CR’ed the broken squad at the HMG position. I moved one of my tanks into a bypass freeze sleaze on one of his squads in the forest but I still can’t break out into the open while the AT gun is operational. The freeze sleaze squad broke in advancing fire and I took him prisoner and advanced a concealed squad adjacent to his last two concealed squads in the forest. In his turn he moved them one hex into the forest and now the entire open ground beyond that area is held by only one of his squads manning a LMG. My defensive fire broke the now malfunctioned AT Gun’s crew so next turn my tanks can run riot as both his ATR’s are on the hill. In his advance phase he moved a 9-1 and 2 squads with a MMG into the now vacant level 3 hill hex with the HMG in a desperate attempt to stop the rush that he knows is coming. My turn 8 prep fire broke the 9-1 and both squads (fortunately as he had found the HMG in rally) and, better still, a 6+1 shot also broke the squad and LMG guarding the open ground north of the board 5 forest. I called a general charge and ran across the open ground with a view to getting to the northern board edge (BD 2) in 2 turns.
TURNS 9, 10 & 11
At this point the game got quick and although he pulled back as quick as he could I was still able to get one squad and both AFV’s off the board (He had pulled both his ATR’s back so I had to leave or risk losing the tanks) that was a total of 11 CVP’s as one of the tanks had malfed its main armament. I only needed 3 more CVP’s, he was able to contain my advance in that area but the majority of the damage had been done and as he was now retreating he had lost all measure of a coherent defence. I still had 2 HS, a leader and a LMG that were covering the open ground in that area and they valiantly held up 2 of his squads long enough for them to not be able to pull back to the exit area. At the hill I moved 2.5 squads up and took a bunch of prisoners (a crew, 3 squads and a 9-1 leader) which thinned out my force but my MMG fire group was coming along minus the 9-2 leader that had been wounded by a sniper. Meanwhile 3 of my boats landed and attacked the exit area on board 2 from the western edge where it was only held by one of his squads. On turn 11 I broke that squad and was able to run one of my own off the board so I only need 1 CVP now, at this point he surrendered as he had no units that could cover my exit area within movement distance and it was a foregone conclusion as my MMG squads who had now linked up with a 9-1 leader were within range of a level 3 hill hex that could pour fire on any of his troops that would try to re-enforce.
GERMAN VICTORY
CONCLUSIONS
Nice little game, tough for the Brits to win but would be good for an experienced player to be the Brits and a Newbie as the Germans. Although this report did not mention much of them, my men that landed on the O5 island really helped the day, they stopped rout paths from off the level 3 hill forcing broken guys to remain in the sights of my MMG kill stack and they also stopped him from relocating quickly down the road on the western side of the hills to re-enforce the exit area squads.
I thought Legion made 2 major setup mistakes, firstly he had his only HMG in a foxhole in 2T6 a level 2 hill hex in an area that was hard for the German to assault, he eventually moved it to a level 3 hill hex but they only survived one fire phase with a +1 height advantage (my MMG kill stack was firing 12FP -1 at him). I feel he should have that unit on the level 3 hill from the beginning so its massive ROF could be used. His AT gun was on level 3 2Q6 (where the HMG should have been…) and as soon as it was in LOS of my troops it got put on the board under a concealment counter, that allowed my tanks to know where it was and avoid it. As a defender his only HIP was the AT Gun and I feel it should have been in a position where it could surprise a tank and take one out of the game which, combined with the losses I would take from his HMG and MTR on the level 3 hill hex would have given him a fighting chance.