2WIN - Murphstein (Allies) vs Golaith (Axis)

[murphstein]

Plans for Turn 3:

Western Sector: Movement of 243ID toward St Saveur indicates...what? Is he planning a counter-attack from St Saveur thru the bocage against the 82AB, or are these units heading south to defend Caretan? Maybe he's thinking he can sacrifice Cherbourg (+30 Allies) for Caretan (+30 Axis) and come out even?

- 4ID to take Quineville and see if 243ID units them move back N
- 90ID(358RCT) to extend 4ID line SW to Mederet R and threaten Montbourg
- 90ID to reinforce 101AB at Taute River bridges and assault Caretan next turn
- 82AB to engage enemy E of St Saveur and cross the Douve R @ 28,26 (give him yet another thing to worry about).
- 101AB to clear northern Vire R bridge and outflank Caretan defenders for next turn's assault on the Axis super-objective.

Central Sector: Spreading the 12SSPzr out across the entire front is probably necessary to leave no gaps in the line. Need to find some weak points, and to eliminate the salient he holds W of Douvres between the BR and CA 3IDs.

- 29ID to advance S toward the Aure R and Isigny, and take Formigny this turn
- 1ID to drive S and SE from crossroad @ 61,29 toward Balleroy and Bayeux
- BR 8ArmB to take Bayeux from NE and link up with US 1ID

Eastern Sector: Recapturing Benouville and moving adjacent to Pegasus Bridge tells me he intends to get it back; that needs to be dealt with harshly.

- BR 50ID to clear Bayeux "gap" of defenders and turn SE toward Caen
- CA 3ID to advance S to Bretteville, W of Douves-Caen road
- BR 3ID to advance S to Periers Ridge, E of Douves-Caen road, and retake Benouville.
- BR 6AB & Cdos to hold Pegasus Bridge and expand airhead another hex-row S.

See the URL in the previous post for a screenshot of the map. The forum isn't uploading my within-size-limits SAL.zip files just now.

[Veers]

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Axis Turn 02
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Western Sector:
709InfDiv: broken down and defending Quineville to Montbourg
243InfDiv: broken down and defending Montbourg to Mederet River, or moving S toward St Saveur
91AirDiv: broken down and defending Mederet River to Douve River
6FJRgt: broken down and defending Caretan and Vire River bridge to Omaha Beach

Central Sector:
352InfDiv: broken down and defending Grandchamps to Formigny, then S of Aure on road to Bayeux
30MobBde: seen arriving N of Aure River, probably now defending Formigny to crossroad @ 61,29
12SSPzrDiv: broken down and defending spots in the line from crossroad @ 61,29 to Bretteville

Eastern Sector:
716InfDiv: remnants defending Periers Ridge spur W of Douves
21PzrDiv: broken down and defending from Bayeux to Dives River
711InfDiv: broken down and defending N-S line W of Dives River
12SSPzrDiv: broken down and defending spots in the line from Bretteville to Orne River
346InfDiv: appears between Orne and Dives Rivers around Troarn

Axis got 6 combat rounds:
Attacks on 101AB units holding bridges, repulsed
Attacks on 82AB units at N end of line, repulsed
Attacks on Br3ID units in Benouville, successful
Attacks on Br6AB units protecting Pegasus Bridge, repulsed

End: Axis 75/2, Allies 4/0, score -129/79, (OD).

And just for Veers (hope this works):

It worked! Better watch the Colleville and Bayeux gaps, eh? Errr...that would be advice for your opponent.

[murphstein]

Results for Allied Turn 3:

Western Sector:
- 4ID liberated Quineville; 358RCT and armor engage 206Pzr near Mederet R.
- 90ID & 101AB crossed Taute River and destroyed enemy forces N of Caretan
- 82AB dug in to defend W of Mederet R and prepared to cross Douve R @ 28,26

Central Sector:
- 29ID liberated Formigny, moved toward Isigny, protected 1ID right flank
- 1ID destroyed defenders E of crossroad @ 61,29 and advanced S along road
- BR 8ArmB liberated Bayeux and inflicted significant losses on defenders
- BR 50ID pushed defenders S in the "gap" area from Bayeux to Bretteville

Eastern Sector:
- CA 3ID destroyed enemy line W of Douves-Caen road and N of Bretteville
- BR 3ID encircled defenders E of Douves-Caen road and liberated Benouville
- BR 6AB & Cdos dug in to defend Pegasus Bridge pending relief from 3ID

End: Axis 75/2, Allies 4/1, score -130/79, (OD).

[murphstein]

1) The news this turn says that Allied RR engineers landed. Big deal...none of my supply points are connected to railroads...or am I missing something about the significance of this? Somebody thought it news-worthy...

2) What's the right way to utilize those supply units I have (1 US, 1 BR at this point, apparently more coming)? They can't be divided, so where do I put them and when do I move them? Does moving them cost me anything that turn? Is there any point to digging them in or setting their loss levels?

3) Based on my parallel game vs Elmer, I think I have a reasonable chance of getting to the southern edge of the map below St Lo and Torigny, thereby capturing some German supply points. What happens when I do? I assume he loses supply and I do not get a supply bump. If he has reinforcements arriving at or near the hex, where do they appear? Hopefully, not right next to my company of cavalry!! Map-edge behaviors always seem to get a bit gamey, and are not always obvious in advance.

[General Staff]

1) The news this turn says that Allied RR engineers landed. Big deal...none of my supply points are connected to railroads...or am I missing something about the significance of this? Somebody thought it news-worthy...

2) What's the right way to utilize those supply units I have (1 US, 1 BR at this point, apparently more coming)? They can't be divided, so where do I put them and when do I move them? Does moving them cost me anything that turn? Is there any point to digging them in or setting their loss levels?

3) Based on my parallel game vs Elmer, I think I have a reasonable chance of getting to the southern edge of the map below St Lo and Torigny, thereby capturing some German supply points. What happens when I do? I assume he loses supply and I do not get a supply bump. If he has reinforcements arriving at or near the hex, where do they appear? Hopefully, not right next to my company of cavalry!! Map-edge behaviors always seem to get a bit gamey, and are not always obvious in advance.

1) These can help you with major fording ability to get over super rivers. Plus more generally repair blown bridges.
2) The effects are in the manual but really put them behind your main pushes, though be aware this can be a dead giveaway if the other side notices. Then again you could be bluffing...
3) 2WIN has some unique victory conditions which I'm not sure Elmer accurately understands. Those are the hexes that don't have VP #s in the briefing- Pegasus, Carentan etc... So it's maybe not the best scenario for Elmer. I've played him as the Germans and he sat 2 complete AB divisions opposite Carentan for the bulk of the scenario. And the Germans won't lose supply if you take these supply points necessarily unless you've got a surround or have them isolated from every other one (and there are a lot- virtually every RR/road entry hex has one). Also given what I said above about Elmer I'd suggest you'll have trouble getting to Torigni (and winning) against a competent German defender. St Lo if you're lucky and Bourgebus Ridge can change hands a few times in the last turn or so- usually depends how lucky Allies get at Bayeux.

See here for a good AAR from the German perspective: http://www.gamesquad.com/toaw/?p=36

[Heldenkaiser]

I believe when playing Allies last year I got an OV with taking Bourguebus Ridge, Caen, Carentan and Cherbourg. I never got closer than 5 or 6 hexes to St. Lô, but nor did I have to.

[Heldenkaiser]

2) What's the right way to utilize those supply units I have (1 US, 1 BR at this point, apparently more coming)? They can't be divided, so where do I put them and when do I move them? Does moving them cost me anything that turn? Is there any point to digging them in or setting their loss levels?

Unless I am much mistaken, look at these things as mobile supply sources. You can adjust your supply network a little with them. I dig them in routinely (why not).

[murphstein]

Start: Axis 75/2, Allies 4/0, score -129/79/OD (no change from T3 end)


Plans for Allied Turn 4:

- In the west, continue to push defenders NW to threaten Cherbourg, while attacking S toward Caretan
- In the center, continue to expand Omaha beach-head W to Isigny, while attacking S toward Cerisy & Balleroy
- In the east, continue to expand BR/CA beach-heads S to Perier Ridge, secure Pegasus Bridge, pull enemy reinforcements away from center

Western Sector:

- 4ID to threaten Montbourg, hold Quineville and push defenders
- 90ID (358RCT) and 4ID armor to attack 206Pzr S of Montbourg
- 90ID to attack Caretan from N and drive defenders S or E
- 82AB to demonstrate E of St Saveur and cross Douve R @ 28,26
- 101AB to secure Vire R bridge and support 90ID attack on Caretan
- 9ID (arriving) moving to relieve 358RCT and will flank Montbourg

Central Sector:

- 29ID to threaten Isigny, widen beach-head, protect 1ID right flank
- 1ID to drive S for Cerisy and Balleroy destroying enemy in path
- BR 8ArmB to defenders W of Bayeux and get behind 1ID opposition
- BR 50ID to surround defenders E of Bayeux and break enemy line
- 2ID (arriving) moving behind 1ID, and will attack S thru them

Eastern Sector:

- CA 3ID to advance on Bretteville W of Douves-Caen road, and surround Douve defenders
- BR 3ID to advance on Periers Ridge E of Douves-Caen road, surround Douve defenders, hold Benouville
- BR 6AB & SpcSvcs to secure the airhead and Pegasus Bridge, and drive 21Pzr units away to the S

End: Axis 75/3, Allies 4/1, score -129/79/OD (no net change, +1 LP each)



Lessons learned (so far):
- Martin's no dummy, he has PzJg or Pzr units broken down and dug in with his infantry all along his line, it seems.
- I'm trusting that, if I'm patient and keep pressing him pretty much all along his line, eventually he'll wind up with a gap he cannot fill, which I can exploit. I'm hopeful this is happening S of Bayeux in the next turn or two.
- I've got significant reinforcements arriving soon on all fronts (9ID in west, 2ID and 2Armor in the center, BR 51ID in the east, which I'll use to reinforce success where and when it occurs.

[Veers]

Lessons learned (so far):
- Martin's no dummy, he has PzJg or Pzr units broken down and dug in with his infantry all along his line, it seems.
- I'm trusting that, if I'm patient and keep pressing him pretty much all along his line, eventually he'll wind up with a gap he cannot fill, which I can exploit. I'm hopeful this is happening S of Bayeux in the next turn or two.
- I've got significant reinforcements arriving soon on all fronts (9ID in west, 2ID and 2Armor in the center, BR 51ID in the east, which I'll use to reinforce success where and when it occurs.

Yeah, if you can crsuh those encircled units at Bayeux (congratzon the encirclement), then you'll have a fairly sizeable gap that you can exploit with your coming reinforcements. THe question then will be where to go. Foret de Cerisy is an obvious objective. But, after that, do you swing east, for Caen, or southwest, for St. Lo and Torgini? Prolly have to weigh the VPs in both areas vs. expected difficulty.

Also are you planning to exploit the crossing of the Douve that the 82nd is holding? That could scare him, forcing him to either pull off troops from the rest of the front, or force him to divert arriving reinforcements there...and, either way, it'll stretch his front line.

[General Staff]

Once I've got something to work with between Formigny and Creully I usually pile the CW through to head to points east (Bourgebus Ridge/Caen- the first a priority) and the Amis through the Forêt de Cerisy towards St. Lo (Torigni is IME ambitious) while also putting pressure on the Germans to withdraw from the Carentan area to save St. Lo and avoid being cut off- the Combat Commands are ideal for this.

I also pile high recce value units through any gaps even at high risk to themselves- splitting them into 3 and heading in all directions in the German rear- to try to disrupt the formation of any new German line.