Drifter Man vs Titan DAR

There is a line in the sand... I mean in the snow... and I can see it very clearly now that I am crossing it. Ouch!

Turns 34-36. The battle increases in intensity as I am approaching the objectives. Let's start with the left, or northern flank, where I amassed two platoons to assault the hilltop by the left edge of the map. My opponent is ready for that: I know he knows. This is a difficult place to attack, because LOS is blocked by the woods and I can't bring in support. But I have a TRP, and that's something Titan does not know (but may guess). Hoping to strike his defenders, probably significant numbers standing ready on the other side of the hill, two mortars pound the area for about 90 seconds. I wanted one more minute, but from the vanishing contact icons the fire seemed effective, and at the same time one shell fell 50 meters short, on the heads of my own troops. Three casualties plus one lightly wounded:

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Considering that the next shell could be worse, I ended the fire mission early and ordered an assault of the crest of the hill. I ran into a hornet's nest, as expected. I only had a few seconds to observe, but I counted 5 enemy casualties probably due to the mortar fire, including a Panzerschreck team. My troops added 4 more and lost 4 of their own in a sudden exchange of gunfire. The fight has only started - I think I have the strength to push through but I don't know what Titan still has in store. Much is at stake here. I immediately order more point target mortar missions on the now identified enemy positions.

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Center: the 50mm mortars eventually arrive on the hilltop but it takes them too long. Before it happens, my guys get picked off in the woods by the unseen enemies from the hilltop. The regulars run and get shot in the back as they expose themselves. The veterans stare into the woods and get picked off one by one. Losses are heavy, but then the 50mm mortars pound the hilltop and the enemy is silenced. One survivor is seen pulling back. Now I have to probe to see if anyone else is left up there - and to prevent them from returning.

Another team arrives next to the bunker and throws more grenades. Again, no effect. They continue in a firefight with some Germans covering the bunker from the crossroads. At least this is going well, one enemy team is taken out.

Right: Titan doggedly defends the abandoned support halftrack. The tank contact from behind fires smoke shells - the sound of the gun and the fact it is smoke tells me that it is probably a Pz IV or a StuG, not a Panther. Meanwhile, two German teams mount a counterattack to protect the flank of the halftrack, eliminating one of my teams and pushing the rest back. I only manage to put two or three more AT rifle shots into it. The Pz IV then circles around and challenges the T-34 to a facing duel at ~350 meters. Two seconds before the end of Turn 36, the T-34 sees the target first - or at least it looks that way. It has fired on some infantry in the area, so it should be well ranged in - good chance for a first hit. But my opponent will have certainly noticed that the turret has moved. He will pull back. The smoke screen complicates visibility. Will he be fast enough? Or will he stand his ground and fight it out? Will my tank miss the target, will the smoke obscure it, and in the next round the Pz IV will see me first? Will the trees intervene again? We will know when the next turn arrives.

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Finally, on the right edge of the map, some depleted MG teams - one or two man strong - defend the area. But as long as there is one man, it is a deployed HMG and as such very dangerous to attack. I am hitting them with my forces from a base of fire position with another T-34, BA-64 armored cars, mortars and machineguns. I may be able to advance here soon if the duel plays out well. If not, I may be in trouble here. There are too many troops with minimal cover and no means of defending themselves against a tank. Much is at stake here, too.

68 casualties taken so far. Titan's confirmed losses are at one hundred.
 
Turns 36-39. Things work out in my favor, but the subsequent turns show that the road ahead is still hard - and slow.

The T-34 nails the first shot - front superstructure penetration of the German tank, which is a Pz IVJ (early). The commander is killed. Before the T-34 can reload and fire again, a cloud of smoke obscures the view. When it passes, the tank shows as Knocked Out, but the hull compartment hatches are closed. I assume the crew was killed in the vehicle.

As a result, the temporarily abandoned Stummel is toast - the crew gets back in, only to get blown up while the driver is looking for his keys.

However, I am still stuck on the right flank. Two one-man HMG teams stubbornly refuse to die, turn after turn, and continue firing at anything at moves. One of my own MG teams gets shot up, losing three men.

In the center the AT bunker is still alive, and I am moving in a third team tasked with taking it out - the first two are nearly out of grenades and won't throw any more. And while I pushed the Sturmgrenadiers out of the hilltop with 50mm mortar fire, their losses were much smaller than I hoped - just 4 men. They are now trying to sneak back. I managed to move forward by two or three action spots, but I am again stopped by automatic fire coming from the woods. It was a mistake to send a rifle platoon here - I should have sent the SMG platoon of the 3rd company. I am fixing the mistake now, but the damage and delay have already been done.

On the left flank the assault on the hill by the northern edge of the map goes reasonably well, but I am not still advancing there. The nearby defenders were quickly eliminated, but more troops poured in. Here the advantage in armament was reversed: the defenders seem to be normal Grenadiers and are a little short on automatics, whereas I have SMG teams in the fight. But the Germans still have their powerful LMGs and right now that's the only thing stopping me. A few last defenders keep unloading their MG42s into the woods - my troops killed just about everyone else, but as long as the LMG is up, it's like facing the whole squad.


I have seen enough of Titan's troops to make a wild guess of their make up. Making some modest assumptions about troop quality, my opponent may have just 5 platoons of "normal" infantry. My guess is a Grenadier company and two Sturm platoons. I have also seen 13 HMG teams, 3 panzerschrecks, 2 AT bunkers, one wood MG bunker, one Pz IVJ and one unidentified tank, one Stummel and one unidentified light armor, one SdKfz 7/1, 8 antipersonnel mine fields, 5 foxholes. I have not seen any artillery or even on-map mortars. Titan may have artillery or mortars, but that means even less infantry.

Casualties score... 78:129. Good, but the clock is ticking...
 
Turns 40-42. A few more static turns. The firefight in the woods on the left flank slowly dies down as the last defenders are taken down. The central hill also sees some fighting - I hit the hilltop again with 50mm mortar fire and eliminate a two-man LMG team, but cannot progress because of German HMGs covering the southern slope of the hill. I also find more mines. One new minefield on the hill and another one in what now makes my rear area - three men are lost. I also lose my first vehicle: a BA-64 armored car crossing the road on the right flank hits an antitank mine and is blown up. I was just crossing the road from one side to another at a random point: either I have the crappiest luck, or the road is thoroughly mined from one end to the other. Probably something in between. I won't know until the end of the game. So far the total is 9 antipersonnel and 1 antivehicle mine fields.

The AT bunker withstands another volley of 10 grenades and I decide to stop wasting them on this structure. The bunker is irrelevant at this stage. If I get the chance, I'll dispatch a sapper team to deal with it.

I don't have good observation of the other side, but some commotion can be seen out there: A HMG team runs to back the hard-pressed defenders on the left flank and a truck carrying a 5-man sturmgrenadier team is headed in the same direction. A Battalion commander has left the bunker and is seen running towards the central hill - hard to tell why, Germans have radios and the combat power of this unit is negligible. Then, on Turn 42, my opponent seems to be suddenly pulling back across the entire front. The tank and light armor vehicle - still unseen and unidentified - leave the central hill and slip right under the nose of my T-34, which is covering the road they have taken. The annoying one-man HMG teams, which have been holding me on the right flank, are also withdrawing. I am somewhat relieved, it looked like I'd never get moving again. But I'll have to deal with all this anyway, soon.

I've determined what my opponent's formation is - they are not grenadiers, they are from an Aufklärungs Battalion [motorized]. 8-man squads that can split into three teams of 3, 3 and 2 men, each team having one automatic weapon (MP40, LMG, LMG). Plus each platoon has a 2IC team, also with an MP40. I can see why Titan likes them, they offer good flexibility and a lot of firepower with 2 LMGs. Interesting - I thought this formation had only 1-LMG squads, which made them rather weak, but at this time of the war (December 44) apparently they receive two. However, they don't have organic schrecks. Titan's schrecks probably come from the other formation - probably a Volksgrenadier Battalion. By my estimate Titan started out 340-360 men in total, but it depends a great deal on the quality of the troops he has chosen.

I am still betting on no artillery/mortars, and take chances by bunching up my troops in key areas. I hope I don't get proven wrong.

Casualties 84:137

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The AT bunker problem sucks. I have seen that before. Sometimes they fall immediately, sometimes it takes forever. Did the back door open up? The bunker may have lost its AT Gun if that is the case.

Titan has recently moved away from using mortars (the best unit in the game) and artillery. At least in our games. If you haven't seen them yet, you aren't going to see them.
 
Perhaps pullback is prelude to arty finally arriving? He will want the green squares back.
 
The AT bunker problem sucks. I have seen that before. Sometimes they fall immediately, sometimes it takes forever. Did the back door open up? The bunker may have lost its AT Gun if that is the case.

Titan has recently moved away from using mortars (the best unit in the game) and artillery. At least in our games. If you haven't seen them yet, you aren't going to see them.
I see - I thought I was just ultra unlucky. I ran about a dozen tests with the same bunker on the same map - every time it fell after one or two assaults. The back door is still closed and the crew seems oblivious to what is happening outside.
In our previous two games Titan had a strong mortar force as the attacker, so I expected to see some mortars again. But I don't expect them anymore at this point. Mortars can hurt you a lot, and if you have something that can hurt your opponent a lot, you want to use it early in the game. What you hurt early won't hurt you back later.
I feel I would have much more trouble if Titan ditched those (nearly) useless bunkers and bought a mortar platoon instead.
Artillery? Maybe (also re @KGBoy)

Perhaps pullback is prelude to arty finally arriving? He will want the green squares back.
He still holds the green squares. I am not showing them on the map because they're so big and I actually sort of ignore them - my objective is to destroy Titan's forces, then the map will be mine :2draw:
But after this pullback the path opens to contest the nearest two.

Which costs more points, the car or the minefield?
The car cost 46 points, the minefield cost 25. But you need more minefields for a chance of your opponent hitting one.
See how I was just crossing the road at a random point. Looks like a complete fluke - or the road is mined thoroughly. I wouldn't mind that, that would leave him with even fewer points for infantry.
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Turn 46 update. It looks like Titan's pullback is complete across the front. He only left a few soldiers back to keep an eye one me and to slow me down. The next line of defense will be right at the objectives - and I already have a foot in one.

On the left flank I have captured and cleared what I now call "Northern Hill" - I used two platoons with mortar support and Titan defended with about a platoon of Recon infantry. I think four defenders survived and retreated. Now I want to use this point to attack Titan Hill - one of the objectives - from the north. I am pushing a T-34 and armored cars through the woods to support the attack. I have three more T-34s on this flank and two platoons in reserve. I will need to commit one soon as 2/2 is already depleted from the fighting. The enemy light armor contact that retreated from Central Hill has reappeared in this sector.

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On the right flank I have taken Central Hill and Comrade Stepnov is now right on the top, still alive. My opponent defended with some Sturmgrenadiers - Two Platoon HQs and about a squad were destroyed here. 50mm mortars took care of the hilltop, while tank fire from the left flank hit the slopes. I took similar losses on the hill, in part to the Sturmgrenadiers and in part to mines. The armor contact turned out to be a Marder - I thought all this time it was a Panther. If I had known, I would have area fired it on the hilltop - I had many opportunities. My plan for the right flank is to attack near the right edge of the map - going forward directly via the eastern slope of Central Hill would be too dangerous.

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Own casualties are 88 men, including 12 from mines and 6 from friendly fire. Titan's confirmed casualties are at 152 men.

The AT bunker finally gave up after a fourth assault - it was not intended, but I set up a MG team above it to have a line of fire to the north, and the team offloaded its grenades on it and finally destroyed it. The crew performs a traditional Russian dance to show respect to their captors, then surrenders. Finally I can throw someone in the cages :)


The HQ bunker is still manned by a Battalion HQ and it may be the time for an "accident". The second Battalion HQ has been seen running around near Central Hill and I still have no clue what is Titan doing with it.

Another shot of the destroyed BA-64. Never ignore traffic signs!

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That's the first time I have ever seen bunker crew actually surrender. Maybe their exiting-morale has been tweaked in a patch?
 
This game looks over to me. You are probably going to secure more than a 2 to 1 kill ratio as the attacker. A blow out.
 
That's the first time I have ever seen bunker crew actually surrender. Maybe their exiting-morale has been tweaked in a patch?
No idea, but I was worried they would cause trouble to my MG team after they exit. Due to my stuff up, there was no infantry team on hand to protect them. The one that had been there ran out of ammo and I had to send them back to resupply. I am glad the bunker crew did not want to fight.

This game looks over to me. You are probably going to secure more than a 2 to 1 kill ratio as the attacker. A blow out.
Not yet for me - I am confident I will win, but whether I can keep up the kill ratio or have enough time to take the rearmost objective is still a question.

Turns 47-49 did not go too well in that respect. I lost one man - an assistant platoon leader from the reserve tank rider company - to a marked minefield. I sent them across with a move command like I sent many others. I thought it to be safer than trying the neighboring tiles, which could also be mined, but it probably wasn't. Another man was lost to friendly fire - another 85mm exploding in the trees where it wasn't supposed to. I do take precautions and make sure that the line of fire is clear of friendly troops, but those fragments can travel far away. Finally, I impatiently sent a team of three Broken Regulars (the company was upgraded from Rattled) from the east side of the hill towards the enemy - they got instantly obliterated by the Marder. Idiot me. As a result, the whole platoon panicked and started running around the hill. I hope they don't hit any more mines.

Some interesting stuff at the northern flank. My troops reached Northern Hill #2 and found the enemy HMG position wiped out by tank & MG fire. My opponent sent his light armor piece to fill the gap: it turns out to be a run-of-the-mill halftrack. I may have to assault it with infantry, but first I'll try an antitank rifle. In addition, I spotted another Panzerschreck team in this area - well placed. If I had I fallen for the halftrack trap and sent a tank to deal with it, it would go through the kill zone of the schreck. Instead, my infantry drove out the enemy AT team, but they managed to escape.

A German soldier testing out a new experimental bulletproof uniform is spotted operating behind my lines near Central Hill. In case you lose count during the video clip, that's 150 rounds from a deployed DShK SG43 machinegun at 95 meters. The MG crew is Regular, OK morale, no suppression.


(Edit: wrong machinegun)
 
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A German soldier testing out a new experimental bulletproof uniform is spotted operating behind my lines near Central Hill. In case you lose count during the video clip, that's 150 rounds from a deployed DShK machinegun at 95 meters.
The new Wunderuniformen are very günstig... too bad we only managed to produce one. Hans, it's all up to you now.
 
It was all very günstig for sure, unfortunately, Hans did not survive the next turn - crushed under the weight of the ammunition that was piling upon him.
 
Another great AAR!

Indeed seems not looking good for Titans defense. I too wonder about the bunkers vs mortars/artillery.
Terrain is looking like ideal for on map mortars setup in the back to rain down against your troops cresting those hills, with the TRP on a objective or key terrain for attacking infantry.
Also personally I've have never bought a bunker in a QB. Maybe on a reverse slope with both flanks covered by solid terrain/buildings I'd consider one.

A German soldier testing out a new experimental bulletproof uniform is spotted operating behind my lines near Central Hill. In case you lose count during the video clip, that's 150 rounds from a deployed DShK machinegun at 95 meters. The MG crew is Regular, OK morale, no suppression.
150rnds from a .50 DShK? seems like a glitch indeed, normally any .50 rip through infantry even in buildings. From the movie seemed like there was a bush or something else in between the soldier and the incoming rounds.
 
150rnds from a .50 DShK? seems like a glitch indeed, normally any .50 rip through infantry even in buildings. From the movie seemed like there was a bush or something else in between the soldier and the incoming rounds.

I think it's not so much a glitch as simply that the game is much more abstracted than it seems. Each time a bullet hits a soldier, there's a random chance it will kill him, based on a range of factors... so you end up with situations like this. Also troops surviving whole magazines of SMG fire straight through the chest etc.

Graviteam games seem much more gritty in this respect. Weapons seem more dangerous there, in my opinion.
 
Terrain is looking like ideal for on map mortars setup in the back to rain down against your troops cresting those hills, with the TRP on a objective or key terrain for attacking infantry.
About this - the terrain is not ideal for mortars, the lines of sight are too short for them, so they are likely to get spotted and fired upon. Still, it is good enough for them to cause serious damage, as mortars always do.
 
I think it's not so much a glitch as simply that the game is much more abstracted than it seems. Each time a bullet hits a soldier, there's a random chance it will kill him, based on a range of factors... so you end up with situations like this. Also troops surviving whole magazines of SMG fire straight through the chest etc.

Graviteam games seem much more gritty in this respect. Weapons seem more dangerous there, in my opinion.

For soldiers in cover / buildings there is AFAIK indeed abstracted protection (and bullets will go through them without hurting). But in this case the bullets 'splatted' on the soldier, or perhaps some bushes right in front of him?

Also, in my experience .50s generally always kill on contact unlike usual small arms. However @Drifter Man has just posted that it was an SG-43.
 
About this - the terrain is not ideal for mortars, the lines of sight are too short for them, so they are likely to get spotted and fired upon. Still, it is good enough for them to cause serious damage, as mortars always do.

Ah I see. But indeed still enough reasons to bring m :) If not in close range, further away behind terrain or off map they can still give great suppression / area denial and or lethal fires imo.

Maybe he was expecting a T-34 horde? :D
 
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