This is a continuation of the AAR that i started here.
First i need to clarify something about "Hill 215".
Dont get a false impression, this is not really a hill. It's just a subtly bump !
I'm not defending against a uphill attacking enemy...the terrain in pretty much flat.
All attempts to get the unlucky Marder out of the trench are futile, meanwhile the other two Marders have reached the flanking position south-east of Hill 215.
Russian tanks are now less then one hundred meters away from my trenches, they still move in road column formation. I order all my 3.7cm PaK 35/36 to fire at will...
Finally one of my AT Guns, locate directly infront of the column, opens fire...damn just a ricochet !
The KV-1 returns fire with its machine guns, i can see some tank riders (maybe one or two squads) jumping from the steel beasts. My infantry immediately engages them while flares begin to illuminate the battlefield. The russian tanks turn right (northward) and move into the fields besides the road where a infantry squad and another AT Gun are located.
The situation seems hopeless, i could commit my reserve, the two remaining Marders, or i could call in a artillery strike ontop of my own positions.
Because i fear to lose the only lightly armored Marders in the chaos of the night combat i order my artillery spotter to call in a heavy barrage on TRP No.2 (thats the TRP already ontop of my own positions).
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| The situation shortly before the artillery strike |
It took only two minutes, during which the russian armor kept mopping up the remaining infantry inside my foremost trench, before the barrage started.
Explosion after explosion, dirt and smoke filled the air. Suddenly a T-34 goes up in flames...what happened ? Moments later i notice that a KV-1 is also ablaze, both hit by artillery fire ?!
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| This T-34 just got hit by artillery. Note the destroyed 3.7cm PaK 35/36 in the background |
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| Total carnage... |
The remaining russian seem to retreat alongside the road, a T-60 and a T-34 break contact.
This battle was short but intense and my artillery saved the day...or night in this case !
The Red Army suffered 12 casualties, lost one KV-1 and one T-34.
Another KV-1 and another T-34 got their tracks severely damaged.
The Wehrmacht suffered 18 casualties and lost two 3.7cm PaK 35/36.
I was able to hold Hill 215 and captured another minor key point (see Part One).
Russian armor losses:
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| KV-1, direct hit by a 15 cm artillery shell |
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| T-34, direct hit by a 15 cm artillery shell |
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| KV-1, tracks severely damaged by artillery fire |
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| T-34, tracks severely damaged by artillery fire |
3 comments:
Great blog I really like the way you comment on each image and explain what your thought process is.
Nice blog! What kind of weaponry do the Engineers have...perhaps satchel charges, AT mines? Good that you put the Marders hull down in a flanking position. The 37mm's are good against only recon vehicles (I'm surprised the Russians ran expensive T-34's and a KV-1 up the road like that (which could have been mined for all they knew)) and BT "tanks". The 37mm crews should have retreated from their positions once it was known the enemy had T-34/KV-1...leave the guns behind.
Thanks for your comments !
@ Jagdtiger14
Yes the Engineers had Hafthohlladung H3 AT-Mines and satchel charges.
The problem was that they had no time to dig in like my infantry platoon, thats why i choose to use them for the probe.
Minefields are not represented in this game. Remember the FOW also applies to the operational layer so i guess the enemy did not know that i already had troops at Hill 215.
The russians had at least one T-60 that they should have used to scout the road ahead.
I could have ordered the AT-Guns to retreat but C2 is very complex in this game and such a move is always dangerous to execute, especially for Gun Crews. At least they were able to stop the enemy tanks right inside my TRP... ;)
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