Monsaint Manor (Drifter Man vs Bulletpoint DAR)

[Lethaface]

1515 hrs, Turn 15. My opponent has withdrawn his troops into a corner of Vilage de Farine where the tanks could not fire, and 1 Troop scouts run into them while searching the objective. It appears to be only three men - two MG42 and one Panzerschreck (but not showing as a weapons team). This strange collection makes me think we are looking at the remainder of a motorized panzergrenadier squad that has taken casualties. But I may be wrong about that. One German casualty is spotted in one of the buildings. MP40: good to know that the leader is down. Nevertheless, I advance too fast with the 1 Troop and lose a man to MG fire in the field, and the scouts closest to the defenders are pinned down by their fire. It's not healthy to face a MG42 at 20 meters. I hope I can get some support for these three guys before they get shot up...

View attachment 21215

The enemy mortar on Hill 312 is now directly spotted. It has adjusted its fire and is now targeting a wood patch in Farine where my scouts are hiding. A fire mission starts landing on the mortar position - the Germans take a casualty but continue firing.

View attachment 21216

A second mortar is heard from the wood patch at the eastern edge of Ville du Harfleur. It is targeting the 2 Troop.

Situation update, 1515 hrs. 15 minutes have passed, 1/8 of the time I have available. I have advanced 380 meters from the starting line, of which 200 meters was undefended buffer terrain between the setup zones, which nevertheless took 2-3 minutes on Quick to cross. The advance was led by the two scout troops of the recce regiment, with support of their armored cars, tanks of the 3rd RTR, and regiment mortars. I have taken 6 casualties - 3 infantry casualties and 3 crew of a destroyed armored car. German opposition has been with light forces, but stubborn and organized with skill. I am certain about only 3 German casualties. My opponent has offered me very little to shoot at and I have only see few solid contacts. His mortar fire has not yet caused any damage but is becoming more accurate. I have spent 21% of my mortar ammunition (101/476).

I have to be realistic about my chances. The final objectives are about 2000 meters away from the starting line. If I am covering, on average, 15 meters per minute now, against light opposition, I cannot advance 2 km in 2 hours while overcoming Bulletpoint's main defenses. It's just too far and I refuse to commit to a mad rush that would only yield an easy victory for Bulletpoint. Instead I should aim to grind through one line after another - maneuvering around the defenses is not possible on a narrow map - with the goal to capture the river crossings in the time limit and with acceptable losses.

View attachment 21217

Not sure if you know already, but giving ~40m waypoints on quick will help a lot in making your troops not become tired versus longer waypoints. The distance to the end seems quite a long way though, not sure if combined with the heat and probe setting it is possible to do the distance in a normal fashion. However, in my experience often more is possible than what seems at the beginning.

 

[Drifter Man]

Definitely sharing contacts through C2 can work well. I recently took out a Marder in a keyholed position with a couple of Shermans using this method. Only difference was I could bring my Shermans into hull-down positions to make them harder to spot & harder to hit.
When you mortar the Marder, can you get a tank that has LOF to the Marder’s likely path of retreat?

I suppose this would work with an infantry team spotting for the tanks (and being close to the tanks while they have hatches open)?
In this case it wouldn't work (I can't use tanks where the infantry sees it, and the infantry can't see from where I can use tanks) but I was wondering if infantry and tanks can share contacts. I once tried to post a bailed out AFV crew next to another AFV of the same platoon (hatch open), hoping they will spot for them. But the best I could achieve was a "?" icon. That was vs infantry though.

The Marder can easily withdraw into the village where I don't have LOS - it's a matter of seconds.

 

[Drifter Man]

Not sure if you know already, but giving ~40m waypoints on quick will help a lot in making your troops not become tired versus longer waypoints. The distance to the end seems quite a long way though, not sure if combined with the heat and probe setting it is possible to do the distance in a normal fashion. However, in my experience often more is possible than what seems at the beginning.

No, I didn't know - sound like a good idea. Troops take a break every 40 meters to get a new direction and to wait for the rest of the team to catch up. Encumbered laggards (machineguns) will still get tired, probably - the game tracks the status of each soldier and only gives you an average.

I've learned to mix Quick with shot Hunts to make them stop if they get under fire. I have to crush the a habit from CMx1 to give as few waypoints as possible (waypoints introduced command delays, so you could lose 30 seconds to relaying complex orders to the unit before it starts moving; CMx2 doesn't have that).

 

[Drifter Man]

Another thing I've just learned: I used to think that teams ordered to dismount from a vehicle they are driving (like a bazooka team driving a jeep) do not take any further movement orders in that turn, and just dismount and remain near the vehicle until the next command phase.

However, you can order dismount + give a movement order to the vehicle. The team will then dismount, leave the vehicle and follow the movement order on foot. No more wasted time (and exposure risk) when dismounting!

It is still annoying that you cannot cancel a dismount order once you click on it in the command phase and then change your mind. The only way seems to be to reload the save.

 

[Lethaface]

I suppose this would work with an infantry team spotting for the tanks (and being close to the tanks while they have hatches open)?
In this case it wouldn't work (I can't use tanks where the infantry sees it, and the infantry can't see from where I can use tanks) but I was wondering if infantry and tanks can share contacts. I once tried to post a bailed out AFV crew next to another AFV of the same platoon (hatch open), hoping they will spot for them. But the best I could achieve was a "?" icon. That was vs infantry though.

The Marder can easily withdraw into the village where I don't have LOS - it's a matter of seconds.

If your scouts have c2 to their higher up they can pass it on to that level. If you keep some higher ups from both formations close together they will share on that level and so it will trickle down as well to your tanks / ACs which all have radio's.

 

[Lethaface]

And indeed being very close with a team will share it with unbuttoned tanks up close. Depending on stuff sharing can take longer or less long, but close contact shouldn't take more than one or two turns.
Also, other troops don't directly spot for another unit but can share the contact marked with an ?, although they will know the type of contact ie infantry/tank/at gun etc. For units next to each other that can be near instantaneous.

 

[Drifter Man]

Yeah, but in tank vs tank I need to share info right away - "enemy tank, 300 meters, dead ahead!" After one or two turns I am sharing with a burning wreck

 

[Stafford]

With where that Marder is positioned under the tree, if you are lucky you might have a mortar shell hit the tree and cause an airburst which against an open topped vehicle there is a good chance of causing casualties to the crew.

 

[Drifter Man]

1516 hrs, Turn 16. I needed to finally push forward and had to make a few risky moves, so I was opening this turn with shaking hands. It didn't go great, it hurt, 1 Troop lost five men and 2 Troop lost one. But I made progress and the other side is taking blows, too.

The south end of Vilage de Farine is where it went badly. The infantry teams tucked in the rearmost houses took out one scout, then an armored car moved in but for some reason did not have LOS, although it was supposed to have it. Then another scout team moved into the next building to reinforce, but like the first one, they went into the building, were spotted first and hit first without ever getting a chance to shoot. I reassessed enemy force here as 5 men (2 x MG42, Panzerschreck, Kar 98K/PF30 and scoped Kar 98K). Some fire from a tank and and armored car into the top floor caused some suppression on the bottom floor, but not enough. The armored car has LOS on the bottom floor (alarmingly there is a panzerschreck in the building, at 90 meters from the armored car), but I made a mistake and targeted top floor instead.

In the image below, I suspect that the streets between the buildings, as well as the low stone wall, could be mined.



The north end of the objective is where it went so-so. Counting on the four enemies in the corner being occupied with the other scouts, I rushed across the open. But they were not occupied enough and the Panzerschreck guy took one down with a pistol. The remaining two made it across. Finally, the 2IC team reached their building, only to meet head on with a German infantry team entering a nearby building at the same time. The British scored an important early win by shooting the German gunner, but the remaining three rifles managed to turn the tables, hitting two of my men. I am annoyed that the guy who has the most firepower in the team (Sten) is cowering in the corner while the rifles are up firing, trying desperately to do all the work.



Further to the north, in the fields, a scout team with view on the Marder is hit by direct mortar fire. I knew my opponent knew they were there, but I wanted to keep the Marder in view, and I didn't expect mortars when Bulletpoint has an infantry team nearby (well within the usual spread of mortar fire). Another shell is already on the way, the two surviving scouts have 9 seconds to get out.

I reassessed the enemy force holding the line. So far I've seen four MG42s and two Panzerschrecks. So I believe I am up against two motorized Panzergrenadier squads, split into teams (5-4-2 and 5-6), which use the terrain to move around and stay out of sight. I also think there is a tank hunter team on the loose (I saw tracers of two MP40s before a panzerfaust was fired). And although I see few casualties, based on the makeup of the forces I do see I estimate that Bulletpoint could have lost 7 men. I can also assume that a third squad and the platoon HQ are held in reserve.

The Marder at Harfleur is bracketed by six mortar shells but the best I can hope for is light damage. No sign of casualties, although two shells fall close enough to potentially penetrate the "armor" with fragments. Some German infantry is seen running away in panic. The timing is good - the last shell falls at the end of the turn. I am almost 100% certain my opponent will pull the Marder out to avoid further damage.



The mortar on hill 312 goes hiding. Soon a mortar shell falls right in the middle of their foxhole patch, but the result is unknown. Further back, west of the river, some infantry movement ("?" only) is registered on the Bulletpoint Ridge, near the Crossing.

 

[Drifter Man]

With where that Marder is positioned under the tree, if you are lucky you might have a mortar shell hit the tree and cause an airburst which against an open topped vehicle there is a good chance of causing casualties to the crew.

True - but in this case all shells hit the ground. I reviewed the action phase and one landed really close under the left track... if I could get it immobilized the Marder would be toast...

 

[Drifter Man]

1517 hrs, Turn 17. More casualties a few unpleasant surprises - basically all the worst concerns what might go wrong have come true, and then some. Bulletpoint's men are winning the battle for Vilage de Farine against 1 Troop scouts. My men are dying, his are not.

In the south of the village, the surviving scouts finally started returning fire and received support from an armored car, but this was not enough to suppress the Germans. Another man was lost. Meanwhile, the second German team (B+C) easily repositioned themselves to join the A team and took out the armored car with a panzerschreck (no casualties among the crew). In addition, the Germans are flanking the village from the south - I only have a "?" contact and a Humber IV covering this side, the infantry has not caught up and you have to be really close to the hedge to have a shot. So I think the Humber IV will fall victim to another panzerschreck.



In the north, the situation is no better. I moved in a scout team to support the 2IC team, but Bulletpoint activated a tank hunter team on the top floor of the building (2x MP40). The fresh scout team immediately lost a gunner, before seeing anything. The rest of my troops are pinned, while the two tank hunters race who can reload faster. I have firepower there to match them, but I am attacking, so they see first, pin down first, they win. My guys are not shooting.

A second Marder is spotted in a hull down position on the far side of Hill 312. I caught a glimpse of the first Marder pulling away from the mortar strike.

I need to take a pause and think how to solve this situation. 1 Troop has lost ~40% men, and they didn't even take the village!



Update... it's just me, dammit! This packed house with 5 Germans ("Tank hunter team/PzG squad") is already under light fire from a Sherman, which is not enough to do anything. I found an opening though which I can shoot, I just forgot about it! Next turn, these guys will either escape as usual, or be blown to pieces:



And I have a shot on the other house as well, from a rather unusual angle... It was there all the time... I wish I was just paying attention! So many pixelmen died.

 

[Drifter Man]

1518 hrs, Turn 18. Situation is getting back under control - under Bulletpoint's control in some places, under mine in others.

In the south, the 5 panzergrenadiers succeeded in defeating the attack. Another scout was taken down - Germans simply see better than British and just kill them from the dark. The last scout ran away. In contrast, the panicked crew of the destroyed armored car decided to pick a duel with a MG42, thinking that their Webleys are the right tool for the job. They survived, for now. The Germans are now in a firefight with another scout team, which approached from another direction (By a firefight the MG42 is blazing away at the helpless scouts who are taking cover). The Humber IV reversed out of (perceived?) danger. I will need to organize another assault of this position, but now there might be an opportunity to bypass it.



At the northern end of the objective, I shell the two-story building through an opening in a wall with 75mm, 37mm and machineguns, in addition to a risky flanking move with a scout team from the north. All Germans are hit except one rifle, but not before I lose one more man. Conquering this position was costly, and it might not be over yet. And I should remember there is a Panzerschreck somewhere.



Finally, in the fields north of Vilage de Farine I catch a German A team of a PzG squad in the open. They get away with two casualties.



The Marder on Hill 312 fires two HE into the building on Farine from which it was spotted but the scouts have already left.

 

[Drifter Man]

1519 hrs, Turn 19. A comparatively quiet turn as German activity around Farine dies down. The two German teams (5 men including 2xMG42 and a Panzerschreck) tucked on the south side of the village keep firing - one gunner spent 300-350 rounds in the last 2 minutes - but do not cause any harm to the units that are watching them. That is one scout team hiding in a hedgerow and the valiant crew of the armored car, who take cover behind a stone wall and occasionally poke the MG with their mighty Webleys. In the north, the escaping German team (in the last image above) takes a third casualty in the first seconds of the turn: to my delight it is the MG42, who stayed a bit behind.

A 7.5cm infantry gun opens fire from Hill 312. Three German mortars are now shelling the sector of the 2 Troop (north). No casualties in this turn but watch out for all these.

Although the first objective is not yet fully under my control, I am turning my attention to the next ones: Ville du Harfleur and Hill 312. Hill 312 is closer and can be attacked while avoiding fire from Harfleur. In contrast, I can only attack Harfleur with Hill 312 in my flank. Therefore, Hill 312 is my next objective. I only need to take or neutralize the eastern and northern slope: I expect that the western slope will be defended by infantry and I should approach it from the northwest, rather than from the crest of the hill. Or better yet - from all sides at once.

I have 11 tanks - seven 75mm Shermans and four Fireflies. Three are HQ tanks that I don't want to risk yet, so that's 8 tanks available, plus armored cars of the 1 Troop and 2 Troop (8 surviving). For now I will send 3 Sherman Vs and 2 Fireflies to take positions on the high ground around Farine, from where they can shell Hill 312 (1). The rest will wait in the staging area for a later attack against Harfleur (2) or the area between Hill 312 and Harfleur (3) - moves that can be also supported by tanks from Farine. I am also moving the mortar troop of the recce regiment about 300 m forward. It may take about 10 minutes before they can hit anything again. In the meantime, the mortars of the infantry battalion will take over. Two breaches were made by pioneers to facilitate movement of vehicles (yellow stars below). The text in italics means assumed enemy forces - they are just my guesses of what force could Bulletpoint place to defend these areas.

Before I can deploy the tanks on Farine, I must deal with the remaining defenders in the southern corner. This task is entrusted to 4 Platoon, B Company, 4th King's Shropshire Light Infantry. If they succeed, they will get a reward: Bren guns, binoculars and 9mm ammunition of the defeated scouts. This is part of my strategy for this battle. The scouts are powerfully armed (24 Brens per 72 men) but will die quickly at the tip of my advance. The standard rifle sections are weak (9 Brens per 90 men) but have decent headcount. As I progress, I'll make sure they pick up the Brens and other goodies from the casualties among the scouts. When their time comes, my rifle sections will have enough firepower to match the panzergrenadiers.

Enough theorizing now. Let the guns speak.

 

[Stafford]

 

[Drifter Man]

View attachment 21244

 

[Lethaface]

1519 hrs, Turn 19. A comparatively quiet turn as German activity around Farine dies down. The two German teams (5 men including 2xMG42 and a Panzerschreck) tucked on the south side of the village keep firing - one gunner spent 300-350 rounds in the last 2 minutes - but do not cause any harm to the units that are watching them. That is one scout team hiding in a hedgerow and the valiant crew of the armored car, who take cover behind a stone wall and occasionally poke the MG with their mighty Webleys. In the north, the escaping German team (in the last image above) takes a third casualty in the first seconds of the turn: to my delight it is the MG42, who stayed a bit behind.

A 7.5cm infantry gun opens fire from Hill 312. Three German mortars are now shelling the sector of the 2 Troop (north). No casualties in this turn but watch out for all these.

Although the first objective is not yet fully under my control, I am turning my attention to the next ones: Ville du Harfleur and Hill 312. Hill 312 is closer and can be attacked while avoiding fire from Harfleur. In contrast, I can only attack Harfleur with Hill 312 in my flank. Therefore, Hill 312 is my next objective. I only need to take or neutralize the eastern and northern slope: I expect that the western slope will be defended by infantry and I should approach it from the northwest, rather than from the crest of the hill. Or better yet - from all sides at once.

I have 11 tanks - seven 75mm Shermans and four Fireflies. Three are HQ tanks that I don't want to risk yet, so that's 8 tanks available, plus armored cars of the 1 Troop and 2 Troop (8 surviving). For now I will send 3 Sherman Vs and 2 Fireflies to take positions on the high ground around Farine, from where they can shell Hill 312 (1). The rest will wait in the staging area for a later attack against Harfleur (2) or the area between Hill 312 and Harfleur (3) - moves that can be also supported by tanks from Farine. I am also moving the mortar troop of the recce regiment about 300 m forward. It may take about 10 minutes before they can hit anything again. In the meantime, the mortars of the infantry battalion will take over. Two breaches were made by pioneers to facilitate movement of vehicles (yellow stars below). The text in italics means assumed enemy forces - they are just my guesses of what force could Bulletpoint place to defend these areas.

Before I can deploy the tanks on Farine, I must deal with the remaining defenders in the southern corner. This task is entrusted to 4 Platoon, B Company, 4th King's Shropshire Light Infantry. If they succeed, they will get a reward: Bren guns, binoculars and 9mm ammunition of the defeated scouts. This is part of my strategy for this battle. The scouts are powerfully armed (24 Brens per 72 men) but will die quickly at the tip of my advance. The standard rifle sections are weak (9 Brens per 90 men) but have decent headcount. As I progress, I'll make sure they pick up the Brens and other goodies from the casualties among the scouts. When their time comes, my rifle sections will have enough firepower to match the panzergrenadiers.

Enough theorizing now. Let the guns speak.

View attachment 21243

You could try to move the recce mortars to a position where they can (also) fire directly. Perhaps risky, but possibly also very rewarding.

Keep it up!

 

[Drifter Man]

You could try to move the recce mortars to a position where they can (also) fire directly. Perhaps risky, but possibly also very rewarding.

Keep it up!

Yeah, watching Bulletpoint smash every unit I dare expose, I don't think I will do it anytime soon. Currently he is easily able to hit every place where I might consider placing a mortar for direct fire. There also is the issue that you can accurately identify the site from which the mortar is firing by sound only.

I am learning though that direct fire by mortars has great advantages - not just that the delay is removed, but the fire is also more accurate. With direct fire, point target is actually a point target - unlike with indirect fire, where you should expect the shells to fall with a wide pattern, even on a point target.

I still think direct fire is more practical in defense. The defender can hide his mortars until ready do fire and do some damage.

 

[Drifter Man]

1520 hrs, Turn 20. A seemingly static turn as I prepare for the next moves. Everything takes ages on this map because of the distances. The mortars take long to move. Infantry takes long to move. Tanks take long to move. The shelling from the German side does not make things easier.

A mortar on Hill 312, which I have been aware of for some time and which has been under harrassing mortar fire for several minutes, turns its attention to an armored car that I left stationary in its field of view, and destroys it with an accurate (yes, direct fire) attack. Two crew escape, the commander is hit. In addition, two scouts suffer light wounds from this attack. That is another setback and another loss that I could have avoided. Do not leave vulnerable units in one place for too long. Do not be lazy. Your opponent is watching you.

However, I also make some progress in the clean up of the village. The remaining 2 Germans on the north side surrender (I'd thought there was only one survivor). Two more on the south side are hit by tank fire. This leaves three in the south: a MG42, a panzerschreck, and a rifle (?).



The infantry gun gives me a better idea about Bulletpoint's purchase. I now think that he has a Panzergrenadier battalion (motorized) bought as "Infantry only", as a complete formation. A ruthlessly practical and efficient setup, giving him for ~3050 points:

• ~350 men in the fight on foot, about twice as many as I have
• 54 MG42 (OMG!)
• 12 HMG teams (Oh, more MG!)
• up to 27 Panzerschrecks (shrecklich!), although the actual number will probably be 15-20
• 6 medium mortars, 32 rounds for each
• 2 light infantry guns (can be replaced with heavy mortars but his choice apparently was the IG)
• 3 antitank guns (75mm PaK40 is the probable choice)

Still enough points left for a tank hunter team, 2-4 Marders and some fortifications. I may limit my attention to the nearby objectives but I will still have to defeat the bulk of this force. Bulletpoint will see when I am running out of time and will send his reserves forward.

 

[Lethaface]

Yeah, watching Bulletpoint smash every unit I dare expose, I don't think I will do it anytime soon. Currently he is easily able to hit every place where I might consider placing a mortar for direct fire. There also is the issue that you can accurately identify the site from which the mortar is firing by sound only.

I am learning though that direct fire by mortars has great advantages - not just that the delay is removed, but the fire is also more accurate. With direct fire, point target is actually a point target - unlike with indirect fire, where you should expect the shells to fall with a wide pattern, even on a point target.

I still think direct fire is more practical in defense. The defender can hide his mortars until ready do fire and do some damage.

Spot on, imo. In the offense they can be very useful after heavy weapons with LOS/LOF have been degraded, in direct support of a local attack. So one can rain down Mortars accurately during the attack (reactive), instead of the more preparatory strikes indirect fire offers.

 

[Drifter Man]

1521 hrs, Turn 21. One last turn in which I am consolidating my forces. In the north had to make a lateral move by about 150 meters to avoid the fields covered by mortar fire. In the south I maneuvered a carrier scout section into position to assault the last German stronghold in Farine. Not the rifle section as I announced - I'll use scouts again. They have Bren but not the men... you know. Anyway, all this walking cost time.



Two German survivors from an originally 5-man team that was driven out of the fields north of Farine are seen running southward along the road. Why does Bulletpoint expose them like this?

• He is strong in the north and has no use for them there
• He has no intention to defend the north - the path is open. Possibly leading into a trap.
• He is weak in the south and wants to reinforce his position there
• He wants to confuse me.
• ...
• Just for the hell of it.

In the next turn, apart from assaulting the southern and of Farine, I plan to begin shelling Hill 312 from tanks and to send a few scouts forward. Time to win a few yards of the Norman soil again.