Battles from the Bulge AAR Part 3

 

You Can’t Always Get What You Want

 

It’s 17:00 on Day 1  in this battle for the roadblocks.  As the sun sets on the battlefield things are looking good.  I had expected to be fought to the middle of the map by now.  Instead, I’ve got the Germans bottled up in the northeast.  That’s mostly good news, but there is a downside.

 

The good news is that the Germans havne’t progressed far, which keeps victory out of their reach.  If the game ended now, we’d have a stalemate. I can live with that considering the pounding the 101^st historically took when this scenario ended.  The other good thing is that by being so clogged up my artillery is much more effective when it rains on the heads of multiple units.  The downside?  German firepower is concentrated and may end up breaking through my rather thin and inexperienced lines. 

As the sun sets darkness can pose new challenges.  This is World War II and there are no NVGs (Night Vision Goggles).  Units shuffle around in the dark are identified by the noise they make and dead reckoning.  Rest is the preferred task order from the troops’ perspective (and often the commander’s) but as the Stones sang, you can’t always get what you want.  Often it’s the units that don’t need to be moved and have plenty of rest that are the ones that get more, and it’s the units that are entangled in a firefight, desperately need rest, and are usually needed in a bigger fight that can neither move nor rest.  I believe the contemporary expression that describes it is:  FUBAR.

So it is that as the evening of Day 1 arrives my expectation is that I normally won’t get what I want.  However, this scenario is an exception.  I want most of my troops to hold where they are, the reinforcements to shore them up, and more artillery to arrive (and resupply to take place for those units which are depleted).  Santa, that’s not too much to ask is it?  Actually, That’s probably exactly what’s going to happen, and I’m OK with it. 

Let’s see if that’s what happens. 

I load the scenario, and unpause. 

German artillery continues to pound Team Cherry.  Desperately low on ammo I hold my artillery.  Then at 17:09 I get notice that 73 Field Artillery Battalion has been supplied.  Pausing the game, I take a look and see what they’ve got.  I see their fatigue levels are growing but not critical.  Good.  They can be pushed some more.  A check of their ammo stocks show only 139 HE shells on hand.  They can go through that in a hurry, and I’m not convinced they received any new ammo of any use.  In other words, FUBAR.  Which tickles the inner grog in me totally pink.  This is the way I would have expected to see the war unfold and it’s a pleasure to see it so well modeled.  The gamer inside of me is pleased even if the commander inside is grossly displeased. 

 

I’ll hold fire a bit longer.  I have more reinforcements arriving to relieve the stress placed on TF Rose and Team Cherry.  They just need to hold a bit longer.   

The bad news continues to pour in.  1 Platoon D Company of the 3^rd Tank Battalion has been weakened to the point where it was disbanded and merged with 1 Platoon D Company of the 2^nd Tank Battalion.   

As 6:00PM approaches German reinforcements arrive, and I decide to start spending the remaining HE ammo to grind them down.  They need to be driven back – I can’t hold against them with their artillery pounding me.  Now is the time to go all in.

 

At 18:27 I am repositioning the tank destroyer platoon of TF Booth to overwatch the hill defended by TF Rose when a German unit rolls down the hill to threaten them.  They are identified as Jagdpanzers, but that designation is dubious.  The reliability of the report is poor.  However, whatever the unit is, it is threatening my flanking effort, so once again I call the artillery to help out.  A few minutes later another report of a German armored unit arrives to help the “Jagdpanzers”.  This is reported to be Tigers.  Again, I am skeptical.  One of those units is probably the Panzer company I engaged earlier in the day, but I highly doubt there is anything that heavy facing me right now.  However, I need to get some armor up to counter this threat.  Team Desobry is still moving up to help.  They have some armor elements and I’ll be pleased as they roll in to support. 

 

Unpausing, I watch the developments.

As can be seen from the map at 18:48, it’s dark now and I’ve lost contact with almost every German unit on the map.  I have the map counters set to identify only current contacts; the shadow outlines show suspected positions of units that have been recently seen.

 

With the loss of contact I start ordering my artillery units to rest.  They’ll be needed soon enough and I want them fresh.  I order all but one to rest, keeping the freshest in reserve. 

Things quiet down for about an hour, but round 19:15, as TF Booth starts to advance the platoon of tank destroyers appears to be dangerously close to contact with two German armor companies.  That’s a huge mismatch, even in the dark, but I don’t have a lot to bring in to support it.  However, I want to see how the AI handles this situation, so rather than intervening, I elect to wait and see, and I allow the game to progress on its fastest speed.

 

By 19:30 it is obvious that TF Booth is in contact with the German armor units and suffering for it.  In addition TF Rose has decided now is the time to try to advance and retake its position in Antoniunschaff.  This is going to require artillery. 

I order my mortars to start shooting and I wake my artillery and order them to bombard with a high rate of fire.  I want to aggressively threaten the Germans with TF Rose.  That may draw the armor off of TF Booth. Team Cherry is also getting new orders.  They’ll be directed to push the Germans now. 

I give orders to move out ASAP. 

Nearly an hour later the artillery has done its job.  We’ve driven back the Germans from Antonuishaff.  They have brought up some reserves, but I’m using artillery to pound those, too.  I’ve called for an hour long barrage I have no idea whether I have ammo or stamina to make that happen, but I want the Germans to realize they’ll have no sleep or night counter attacks.   

It’s 20:06 and the evening fireworks are just getting started. My biggest concern is actually the armor facing TF Booth – the last thing I want is a German breakthrough.  I have nothing to stop them at present if they get past TF Booth. 

 

Unpausing again, let’s see how it goes. 

20:42 and there is a lot of activity around Antoniushaff.  The German armor pressuing TF Booth has suddenly withdrawn.  TF Rose is getting beat the hell and none of my reinforcements are moving fast enough to help them.  However, the artillery is the bright spot and, as I said before, when German units start dancing due to artillery, I know I’m doing something right. 

 

Hold the Phone

While I’ve been fighting to drive the Germans off of the hill at Antoniushaff as I zoom out at 21:45 to see what’s happening around me I find a company of German infantry messing around at Longvilly harassing my command units.  There are precious few reserve units this far down the road to resist it.  It isn’t a true threat but it might portend more Germans to come.  At some point I’ve been promised the 101^st Airborne to help shore up my lines, but they’re nowhere in sight. 

Yikes!  Germans in the rear! 

So what to do?  I don’t want to shift any artillery away from Antoniushaff – that’s too valuable to move.  There are a couple of engineering platoons which could come to engage the German infantry company, but I’ve already got one company at Chifontaine which is there for that purpose.  I decide to let that company engage the Germans – they’re far from home and may not put up much of a fight, especially in the dark.  Orders given to attack the German infantry, I turn my attention back to Antoniushaff. 

By 22:34 my reinforcements have started their assaults and the Germans look like they’re being pushed pretty good at Antoniushaff.  Meanwhile in Chifontaine it appears I have not one German infantry company, but two, plus what appears to be some motorized mortars.  Now things are looking a bit more interesting in the center. I think I’ll pull those engineering platoons into that fight.   

23:39 and the German AI is proving problematic.  I see a single infantry platoon threatening one of my field artillery battalions.  That is unacceptable. 

 

More Germans.  This is becoming a problem.

Then at 23:40 I find the Germand overall command unit, KG Cochenhausen.  Good to know.  I’d like to take that out and disrupt their command structure.  It quickly fades out of contact in the dark, but now that I know where it is, I have a new mission for a few units….

In the midnight hour, I cried, "More! More! More!"

The situation at 00:44.

The situation approaching 3 AM.

It’s 04:31 on Day 2 and the night has proved to be a spectacular fight.  Nebelwerfers screaming into the dark, my outgoing artillery pounding the Germans, it’s all been a hell of a fight.  I know I have reinforcements incoming soon, and they will be sorely needed.  But I think I’ve managed to further harass and delay the Germans to the point where Antoniushaff has proven to be a roadblock rather than speedbump.  Day 2 is going to be the day when we crush this advance and drive the Germans back over the river to Clervaux. 

 

At 04:51 scattered German units start popping up to harass more of my rear echelon units. It’s a sound strategy and will serve to disrupt some of my artillery and prevent them from resting.  However, I know I have more reinforcements that will trickle in throughout the day. This may be a painful distraction, but I do not believe it will prove to be more than an inconvenience. 

The Germans press their strategy of trying to disrupt my lines of communication and supply. 

Then at 06:00 I get a message that my Divisional supply base is under fire and cannot dispatch supplies.  When I examine the situation, it appears as though a light flak platoon is the cause of my problems.  While again an irritant, it’s not a real threat.  In addition, I have received noticed that the 501^st Parachute Regimental HQ has arrived.  That is the news I was hoping for.  As its units come to onto the map there’s a world of hurt headed the German’s way. 

The paratroopers begin to arrive! 

And on that note, it’s probably a good time to take a break.  More tomorrow!