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 18:

Thought Processes:

1.                  Time to kill another tank on my right flank.

2.                  It’d be very nice to kill or capture his Bn HQ unit also. I’d say that would shock Bil to the core.

3.                  On my left I’m simply going to wait and fight it out where I stand. I expect Bil to attack this turn.

Orders Phase:

On my left flank my men basically just maintain their positions. I move some of Duve’s men around a little bit since I want to ensure they can spot any enemies moving along the trees on either side of the Sunken Lane but basically just keep my “firing line” as manned as possible

On my right flank I basically have Bertram’s men keep pouring their fire into the enemy Battalion HQ and MMG team caught in the open ground in front of their positions while I have Sehmel’s men concentrate on killing the various stragglers at their location and the Sherman 75 nearby. I order one of Sehmel’s squads to cross the crest of the ridge so as to get out of LOS of the Firefly and Sherman which have broken through my lines and so that it can kill whatever PIAT and MG teams etc are still approaching the ridgeline.

I order Sehmel’s other squad ( the only one with a Panzerfaust left) to close with the Sherman and trust it to use its fausts. The Sherman is buttoned and bereft of infantry support so it fulfils the two prime requirements I need in order for it to be an “easy kill” for my squads.

Action Phase:

I’ll start with the right flank since this is where the majority of the action is.

The enemy MG and Battalion HQ caught in the open ground are brought under a withering fire and slaughtered. By the end of the turn the MG unit is wiped out and the Battalion HQ is reduced to two quivering wrecks seeking shelter amidst the bodies of their comrades. A couple of PIAT teams were caught mere metres from cover by the squad from Sehmel’s platoon I had traverse the ridgeline crest and cut down.

By the end of the turn only the two men from the Battalion HQ are left alive on this flank. All of the other men from the initial attacking force have been killed, wounded or captured and the ground on this flank is literally covered with bodies at the position of the kesselkampf.

As you can see the Sherman received a faust before it could move out of range and was destroyed. One can also see the extreme effectiveness of this squad. It has caused 17 CONFIRMED casualties and taken out one tank. All for the loss of only three men. Many of my squads on this right flank have similar records. Many soldiers will be mentioned in the dispatches this evening.

Here you can see the desperate situation of the Bn HQ at the end of the turn. It is separated from the nearest friendly units ( the two tanks) by a ridgeline and several hundred metres and is meeting fire from the remnants of two platoons of Germans. It will either surrender or die next turn. I don’t much care which although it would be a nice coup to capture a Bn HQ so I think I’ll rush them next turn in an attempt to frighten them with the prospect of close combat and entice them to surrender. One other point of note is the smoke cloud in the background in this picture. In a last ditch attempt to escape my infantry assault the Sherman I just killed fired a smoke round to protect itself. Unfortunately the smoke only began billowing seconds AFTER it had been hit but the disruption to LOS was sufficient to allow all the crew of this particular Sherman to escape. So far every Sherman I’ve hit with an infantry AT weapon has had its entire crew cut down by small arms fire as they bailed out but this crew’s firing of the smoke dischargers saved their lives, if not their tank.

This picture speaks a thousand words to those who know how to read such a picture. It speaks of misplaced defensive units, learning, ambush and the creation of a reserve. It speaks of a greater understanding of offensive doctrine and a serendipitous misdirection of defensive forces. It speaks of a shifting of the offensive schwerpunkt and of an almost unseemly haste which, once again, has caused Bil casualties. Study it and figure out how to draw such conclusions from this picture. It is a very easy picture to read and you NEED to learn how to read these sorts of images if you want to become good at Combat Mission.

All’s well so far. Next turn I will begin shifting my newly freed forces from my right flank leftwards. I’ll also have to redeploy my MLR forces but will need to buy at least a one minute delay in Bil’s attack to do so successfully. Unfortunately I will have to pay for that delay in the only coinage I have left… my men’s lives.. I don’t mind spending that coinage when it is necessary. The only thing that worries me is that I don’t think I have enough coins/men in position to buy me that minute’s delay.

Here is the position at the end of the 18^th turn. Note that the position of the 3^rd platoon of the 2^nd reinforcing company is only estimated. The position of his other platoon-equivalent forces is confirmed however.