Section Leaders:
Fionn Kelly & Madmatt

The Sunken Lane

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German Commander - Fionn Kelly

NOTE: SPOILER INFORMATION. This After Action Report contains detailed information regarding units and  terrain disposition to a scenario that may be included in the release version of Combat Mission. If you wish to play this game Blind or partake in a Double Blind match then READ NO FURTHER!!!!

Graphics Note: While the events in this AAR were played on a very recent Beta Build of Combat Mission. The graphics, at that time, were not finalized. For Final Graphics please view the POTD Feature which runs daily here and various features on the CMHQ-Annex site.

Turn 1

Statement of Assumptions:

I must hold for 25 minutes ( at which time I estimate reinforcements will reach my MLR where my heavy weapons units are dug in).

My force consists of two quite distinct and separate forces. Firstly it consists of 6 platoons of Panzergrenadier infantry which are mobile, well trained and well-armed. Secondly it consists of 8 HMG42s, 4 x 81mm mortars and various HQs to control these support troops in battle. The Heavy Weapons force is virtually immobile and unsuited to fighting in this sort of terrain with its terribly short LOS.

Any attacker who has time to await reinforcements and attack a time and location of his choosing in force will inevitably breach my lines.

Therefore it is of the utmost necessity for me to throw the attacker off balance and to try to continually harass him so that he does not have the opportunity to launch a coordinated, focused assault.

Any wargamer tasked with attacking and taking objectives can be thrown into confusion if the "defender" suddenly rushes forward and presses home his own attack.

Therefore it seems to me that a series of quick, sharp, merciless attacks along the entire front will achieve my goals of:

1. Gaining me ground at little cost during the initial stages of the game which I can use to conduct a fighting withdrawal which will not only slow Bil’s attacks on my MLR but which will also allow me to severely attrit all four of his attacking companies before they even reach the MLR.

 

2. Confusing Bil and creating an atmosphere in which he does not have the free mental energy or attention to speculate about daring thrusts into my weak defence. My goal is to have Bil become so focussed on the myriad short assaults I make over the entire front that not only does it become difficult for his groups to be mutually supporting but that it also becomes difficult for Bil to think about attacking.

 

3. I must take great care to ensure that he doesn’t mass his forces at any time or point during the game. To that end one of my key goals will be conducting an aggressive advance down the sunken lane from which this scenario gets its name. The effect of this will be to split his forces. It is my intent to prevent lateral redeployment of his forces in response to my infantry attacks. This will both aid my attack, delay his attack even longer and create the situation I will need in order to isolate and destroy whatever small groups of his men I can overrun as I advance,
   
   
   
4. If disaster strikes I will fall back to my MLR (held by the Heavy Weapons units) and try to hold out there for as long as possible. Unfortunately the terrain in front of each of the sections of my MLR is open and a boon to any tank commanders who wish to destroy my forces with HE fire. My Panzerfausts will be useless in any fight once I retire to my MLR and one of my prime reasons for conducting my aggressive advance is to, hopefully, catch a couple of his tanks in the sunken lane and take them out with fausts.

My best case scenario is that I will be reduced to approximately 2 platoons of infantry by turn 20 but will have virtually destroyed 4 companies of British troops. I expect that the survivors will be distributed amongst 4 to 5 platoons. I can certainly expect to run into some ambushes given the type of fluid fight I am planning and so can expect to lose at least a couple of platoons to the last man. In short, it is going to be an extremely tough fight which will be fought at the fastest pace imaginable. Units will ambush and retreat within seconds and will be annihilated to the last man in such a timeframe also. Broken terrain with poor LOS could well be second only to Military Operations in Urban Terrain in their complexity, difficulty and casualty levels.

Turn 1:

My forces begin a broad front advance. The Heavy Weapons Teams stay back in my MLR ready to provide covering and suppressive fire if disaster should strike while my mobile units advance to the nearest line of bocage and form a 400 metre long line of death.

I couldn’t resist putting in this nice shot from my right flank which shows 6 half-squads of SS Panzergrenadiers and their commanding officers racing towards the bocage directly in front of their MLR. It is from this bocage (on the right) that I intend to ambush his forces on my right flank. It can’t be seen on this image but in the actual game it is possible to see another platoon running through the woods in the distance as they take up positions on the right flank of the road.

I have split my forces into half-squads in an effort to mislead Bil as to the exact strength and composition of my forces. I also feel that it would be inadvisable to present his tanks and their HE rounds with any squad-sized targets. If I must present them with sitting ducks to shoot at I’d rather those sitting ducks comprise no more than five men instead of ten men.

Each blue circle (or poorly drawn rectangle ;) ) equals one SS Panzergrenadier infantry platoon. I haven’t shown the locations of a few detached squads on the extreme left and right of the map since the only purpose behind this picture is to show the general layout of my forces so you can all follow the battle more easily.

This shot shows the situation on my left flank and centre at the end of the turn. The three blue circles show the locations of three Panzergrenadier platoons while the red circle shows the location of a British platoon making its way towards the woods my men have just moved up to. I don’t have contact anywhere else along my front but the British seem not to have anticipated my positioning my men here. This is good from my point of view since it means I might be able to fire on his main body and not just his recon elements.