View Full Version : "Devil's Descent" CM:BN AAR - Now with 100% more community participation! -
Hai,
First of all, if you haven't played this campaign and might want to give it a try
at some point, do note that this AAR will contain SPOILERS!
As for the campaign, it is a story-driven campaign with choices to make
between the missions that affect the future missions. Casualties and ammo (IIRC)
are also tracked, so if I lose a guy in a mission, that squad will start it's next
mission one man short.
YOU will be making the choices for me (may God have mercy on my soul).
Whenever there is a choice to make, I'll post it here and give it 24 hours
and pick the choice that has gotten more votes. If you've played the campaign
before, please don't spoil anything. :salute:
-------------------------------------------------------------
Campaign Briefing
Situation
2100 5 June 1944, RAF FOLKINGHAM
The 82nd Airborne Division will take off in 90 minutes; if all goes according
to plan, your battalion will be on French soil by 0220 on 6 June.
Your orders follow.
Mission
Your assignment is to support 1/508 in it's primary mission: the seizure of
the western approaches to Sainte-Mére-Église.
Ideally, 1/508 will drop tightly and be able to coordinate its actions with its
constituent companies. However, there are no guarantees. In the event of
an inaccurate drop, your company should be focused on the divisional objective
of seizing Sainte-Mére-Église. If you end up in the city at the end of D-Day,
you've done your job.
Upon landing, link up with other elements of 1/508. Make judgments on the
spot as to how and where to proceed next. Stay aggressive and do what you
can to secure the beachhead.
Friendly Forces
Your command consists of Company C, 1st Battalion, 508th PIR, 82nd AB.
You have three platoons of infantry, each with a command element, two rifle
squads (each with a .30-caliber MG, one with an M1903 sniper rifle and the
other with a bazooka), and a 60mm mortar section.
Enemy Forces
It is difficult to determine the specific units we will be encountering, but if
the deception operations succeeded we will be encountering mostly infantry
divisions of variable quality. The 508th will drop into one of the deepest
inland DZs, so is more likely to encounter a regular-quality division rather
than one of the coastal defense divisions.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Characters
PERSONNEL OF 1st BATTALION, 508th PIR
C COMPANY HQ
CAPTAIN Evans: CO, Company C, 1st Battalion, 508th PIR. Hails from Virginia.
1st LIEUTENANT Bautz: XO, Company C, 1/508 PIR. A quiet, bespectacled
young man from Boston, many doubted that he had the mental fortitude
to become a paratrooper. He surprised everyone with his determination,
but he still rarely talks and looks like he belongs more in a library than
jumping with the Red Devils.
PFC Blaes: Radioman, Company C, 1/508 PIR. PFC Blaes worked in an
electronics plant in California until he enlisted in 1942. A shy, devout Catholic,
he is generally regarded as the most technically proficient radioman in the 82nd.
C COMPANY COMBAT ELEMENTS
2nd LIEUTENANT Spurgin: CO, 1st Platoon, C/1/508 PIR. A tall, lanky Texan,
Lt. Spurgin is a very calm and collected at all times. Spurgin is generally
regarded as the best all-around platoon commander in the comapy, and
Evans frequently assigns his platoon to independent operations when they're
necessary.
2nd LIEUTENANT Ford: CO, 2nd Platoon, C/1/508 PIR. Lt. Ford, who hails
from California, is known in the battalion for always being cheerful and creative.
The youngest platoon commander in the battalion, his creativity sometimes
gets the best of him; he needs the occasional reminder that the doctrine
is there for a reason.
2nd LIEUTENANT Johnson: CO, 3rd Platoon, C/1/508 PIR. A former collegiate
wrestler from Minnesota, Lt. Johnson is stoic and stubborn. While he is a
very orthodox-minded officer, he is know for his bull-like obstinacy and
determination in the face of the enemy.
"The Devils Have Landed"
0220 6 June 1944, C/1/508 PIR DZ
Captain Evans felt a sharp jerk as his parachute opened. He scanned the skies
above him, trying to assess how well the drop was going. He noticed that his
chalk was in good formation, and thought, "Good. It should be pretty easy to
assemble once we're on the ground." The cloudy air made it difficult to see
much further than his own chalk. The moon was also mostly obscured by the clouds,
so most of the lighting was provided by the German anti-aircraft guns and
searchlights-a terrifying, if beautiful scene.
Captain Evans was torn away from his reverie by the realization that he was
approaching the ground "****," he mumbled, as he realized he was headed for a
treeline. He couldn't aim his descent, though, so he had no recourse other
than to brace for the inevitable impact. With a tremendous cracking and rustling,
his body plowed through the upper branches of the tree, and he found his body
hanging just above the ground, suspended only by his parachute cords.
With difficulty, he grabbed his knife and set about cutting himself free.
Evans fell awkwardly to the ground, but after gingerly testing his legs and arms,
he realized he hadn't sustained any serious injury from his landing in the tree.
His equipment lay only fifteen feet away in the middle of a sunken lane.
As he picked up his M1 Garand and gathered the rest of his equipment, he saw
PFC Blaes off to his right. "Wow," Evans thought. "My stick's landing was
really tight." He walked over to the radioman, who was on his knees fiddling
with his radio. "Are you good to go, Blaes?"
The radioman replied, "Uh, not sure. Sir, I don't think you're going to like this."
"What is it?"
"I think the radio's busted, sir."
"Well, ****," said Evans, although he then noted that a broken radio was a
small price to pay for such a tight grouping of his paratroopers' landings.
"All right, Blaes, saddle up. We need to find more of our guys and get moving."
The radioman nodded his assent, and the pair began moving along the sunken lane.
Only thirty feet down the sunken lane, theur lane intersected with another at
an angle. Evans heard movement, dropped to his knees, readied his rifle, and
challenged with a whisper, "Flash."
"Thunder," came the familiar-sounding reply.
"Welcome; who's there?"
"Glad we found you so fast, sir," whispered Lieutenant Johnson, stepping into
view. "Our sticks dropped pretty tight. I've got all of my platoon HQ and the
whole squad that jumped in our bird. Sergeant Mulligan is looking," he paused,
and peered down the road he had emerged from, "yeah, he found a bunch of guys
that jumped with you, sir." Among the paratroopers hustling down the road towards
the intersection was Lieutenant Bautz.
"Good to see you, sir," whispered Evans' XO. "Looks like we've got one squad
here, and there's another coming down the road. Let's move out and see if we
can find some more."
"Good idea, Bautz," said Evans. The paratroopers all began moving along the
road in the opposite direction from that which Lieutenant Bautz had come.
Upon approaching the hedgerow on the other side of the road, they heard a
rustling noise that abruptly stopped. The soldiers all dropped to their knees
and aimed their rifles at the bocage. With a hand signal, Johnson and two of
his soldiers began moving closer. "Flash," he whispered.
"Noch mal?" came the response.
Johnson raised his voice slightly. "All right, Fritz, hold it right there or
you're a dead man," he said as he identified the shape of the German sentry
on the other side of the hedgerow and pointed his Garand at it.
The German sentry's eyes widened, and instinct took over as he tore away
from the hedgerow towards a small building about a hundred feet down the
hedge line, screaming "AMIS!" as he went. Johnson's Garand barked, and his
screams ceased.
"****," said Johnson as he shrank back into the earthen part of the hedgerow.
"What is it, sir?" asked one of his wide-eyed paratroopers.
Johnson looked at the man and was about to say something, but stopped.
Then, all of the paratroopers began to hear the sound of doors opening in
the farm complex in the fields beyond the hedgerow, and panicked shouting in
German. Johnson lackadaisically thrust his thumb in the direction of the farm.
"That's what, Private."
Lieutenant Bautz began evaluating the surrounding terrain. "Sir, we're going
to need to take that farm complex if more waves are coming in after us. If the
Krauts are still in there when dawn breaks, they'll **** us up."
"Agreed," replied Evans, and he began to issue his orders.
Hottentot
07-24-12, 06:18 AM
Ooo, we are having lots of AARs these days. Looking forward to this! :yeah:
(Gets You-Know-Whose phone number ready.)
"The Devils have Landed"
Mission
Seize and occupy the central part of the farm compound and clear the farmhouse
of Germans (although you do not need to occupy the farmhouse).
Desired endstate: Farm complex no longer a threat to any paratroopers or gliders
continuing to land in DZ N. 508 PIR elements combat effective and capable of
resuming operations to take Sainte-Mére-Église.
Friendly Forces
Captain Evans, Lieutnant Johnson, and two rifle squads are available at present
in the sunken road. There's no way of knowing if we will receive any additional
troops, but once the firing starts in earnest, we can expect any nearby paratroopers
to march to the sound of the guns.
Enemy Forces
Given the appearance of the sentry and the way the rest of the enemy has reacted,
it seems likely that the enemy consists of at least partially of infantry.
It would be difficult to say anything else about them in the gloom, though.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/01-18.jpg
I don't start with much, but at least the terrain favors me.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/02-18.jpg
First on my list is to get rid of those sissies hiding inside the building next
to the road.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/03-17.jpg
*sneak sneak sneak*
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/04-11.jpg
SURPRISE!!
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/05-8.jpg
This gets the attention of the other sissies hiding in the farm complex and so
they open fire on the squad. My other squads answer with a hail of fire which
quickly forces the Germans to start hiding again.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/06-7.jpg
I use this downtime to start moving some of my troops along the left side of the
map to flank the farm complex.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/07-5.jpg
Lieutenant Ford decides to join the fight from the right edge of the map, so I'll
send him and a rifle squad to flank the complex from the right.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/08-2.jpg
The Germans decided to try that whole shooting thing again, but this time it wasn't
just bullets they got in return, they also received a few mortar rounds which again
made them go back into hiding.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/09-1.jpg
I use the suppression to my advantage and start my attack from both left and from the right.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/10-1.jpg
Sorry, the "1 Finn equals 10 Russians" only applies to Finns.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/11-1.jpg
Run away!
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/12.jpg
Ready... Aim... Fire!
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/13.jpg
I keep the momentum up and assault the central complex.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/14.jpg
Which quickly surrenders, most likely because they figured it was no use to try and fight
an enemy who is so determined as to attack under heavy mortar barrage from his own mortars.
(my mortars pumped 50+ rounds on top of my attacking troops.. thanks. :shifty:)
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/15.jpg
Could've started better. :hmmm:
Decision time! But first, a wall of text por favor.
"Waiting for Spurgin"
0250 6 June 1944, SW of C CO. DZ
"Good to see you, Lieutenant," said Evans, turning to Ford, whose 2nd platoon
had arrived during the fight.
"Good to see you too, sir," said Ford.
"Well, looks like we have some semblance of combat power now," said Lt. Bautz
drily, as he surveyed the paratroopers gathered around the now-cleared farm complex.
"Real stroke of luck, our platoons dropping together with so little scatter," said Ford.
"Yeah, but... I've just got a bad feeling about something," said Johnson.
Evans moved to reassure his platoon commanders. "It's just the strain of combat,
Lieutenant. Don't worry too much."
Johnson stared blankly out into the blackness of the night. "Yeah," he replied eventually.
Evans moved on. "Anyone seen any sign of 1st Platoon?"
Everyone shook their heads. Lt. Bautz replied, "It seems odd that we haven't, given that
everyone else dropped so close together."
"Well, no use worrying about it. If we find Spurgin's boys, so much better. Whether or
not we do, we've got to focus on Sainte-Mére-Église."
"Sure," said Ford. "But where is Sainte-Mére-Église?"
Johnson checked his compass. "If we dropped in the right place, it should be
east-northeast of here."
"IF we dropped in the right place, yes," said Ford drily.
"Our drop was pretty tight. It looks like things are going well so far," said Bautz.
"Cut it out; the scouts are back," said Evans. "What did you boys find?"
The corporal leading the scouting elements replied, "Sir: there's a decently large
town just down that road a bit. Can't tell if there are any Krauts in it."
"Right. Why don't you go back and find out for sure?"
The corporal saluted, assented, and returned down the road he came from. Evans
turned to his lieutenants. "All right. Until we get our bearings, we can't be sure
where we are. I say we clear that town and try to find out where we are exactly.
Hopefully we'll link up with more of our boys in or around the town."
"Why risk it?" asked Ford. "The town's to the southwest."
As Evans was about to answer, a paratrooper threw open one of the top-story
farmhouse windows. "Hey sir, come up here and take a look. I think you'll want to see this."
The private handed Evans his binoculars. "Look, sir. Take a look over there."
Evans strained to see anything through the binoculars, and gave up after a few
seconds. "It's pitch black. I can't see a goddamn thing."
"I know, sir, but do you see that burning plane? Look towards the wreck."
Evans sighed and put the binoculars up to his eyes yet again. "Ah, now I see it."
He handed his binoculars to Bautz. "Take a look."
"Holy ****, sir. If there's an artillery spotter in that tower, the glider
landings are ****ed."
Evans nodded grimly. "Yeah. We'd better take that town before it gets too bright out."
"Ok, boys, listen up. That town down the road has a church on a hillock. If the
Krauts have an artillery spotter or a sniper up there, ****'s going to get really
messy once it gets bright out. Let's get in closer and take a look."
Evans' platoon commanders nodded assent and began issuing the necessary orders.
Evans moved as silently as he could down the country road, only twenty yards behind
his company's scouts. After what seemed to Evans as a half a mile or so,
the scouts in quick succession, motioned for the column to stop. Evans repeated
the signal, and little by little, the entire company peeled off the road and
settled into cover by the hedgerows.
One of the scouts ran up to Evans. "Looks like a Jerry road-block up there, sir.
I'm going to take Thomas and check it out."
"Go agead," replied Evans.
The company waited in a silence only broken by distant gunfire and the sound
of aircraft engines. At this point, everyone could see the dim outline of the
church that they needed to control. After what seemed like an interminable wait,
the company heard a low thump anda brief flash of light coming from the road
up ahead.
"Parker!" whispered Evans. "Go find out what the **** just happened!"
The corporal started off, and then stopped after a few paces. "No need, sir;
they're coming back." He pointed to two figures, slowly coming into focus,
running at full tilt towards Evans.
The scout hurled himself into the ground next to Evans and took a moment to
slow his extremely rapid breathing. Still panting, he said, "Definitely a road-block.
Five or six Jerries behind a sandbah wall. Gave 'em a grenade, I think it killed
them all."
"Were you seen by anyone else?" asked Evans.
The scout took a few more deep breaths. "Don't think so, sir. But Jesus, that
was scary, just running into those bastards like that."
Evans turned to his lieutenants, who had been gathering around him while the
scout related his story. "All right. Town's definitely occupied. Thoughts?"
Ford piped up. "I say we hit the ****ers right now. Don't give them any time to react."
Johnson responded, "I don't know. It's awfully dark still, and now they know
we're here, they can probably stay hidden long enough to blow US up instead."
Bautz added, "Furthermore, if we wait for a few hours, we might be able to get
some more guys together. Maybe find Spurgin's platoon."
"All right," said Evans, "Here's what we'll do..."
---------------------------------------------------
1) Wait for an hour or two for reinforcements to arrive
2) Attack the town now
:hmmm:
2) Attack now. If any other platoons have landed in the area and hear the fighting they may gravitate towards it and join in. Strategic surprise is still in your favour even if tactical surprise is not.
Oh, and find Dick Winters. :yep:
Go boldly forth :D
I played this campaign not too long ago. Good stuff indeed!
I'll be curious to see how differently yours ends up from mine. I did well in the end, but there was at least one mission where I was like this :/\\!! about a decision I'd earlier made - it sure cost me.
I played this campaign not too long ago. Good stuff indeed!
Oh yea, really liking the narrative. :yep:
----
I'll be making this first decision a bit earlier as it was around 11-12PM when
I posted it. Just so I can play at least two more missions before I head off for the
weekend.
So, 5 hours or so to cast yer vote.
"The Bells are Calling" (Part 1/2)
"We can't wait for anything. Let's hit them now before they have a chance to react."
Mission
There are four priorities here:
1. Clear and hold the south entrance to the town
2. Clear and hold the west entrance to the town
3. Destroy German forces in the town
4. Clear the church of enemy forces
Friendly Forces
We have the company command group and 2nd and 3rd Platoons available for
the assault on the town.
Enemy Forces
The scouts' report indicated that the Germans they killed were infantry from
the 91st Airlanding Division, the same as the unit we previously fought at
the farm. The division does not have a lot of vehicles; they're likely to be
mostly infantry, possibly with some crew-served weapons. Hopefully, if we attack
now, the enemy will be caught off-guard.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/01-19.jpg
I plan to secure the east approach first and push to the church from there.
Lieutenant Johnson's 3rd platoon will move along the left flank, while
Lieutenant Ford's 2nd platoon moves along the road eventually linking up
with Lt. Johnson's platoon.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/02-19.jpg
3rd platoon gets to the buildings without opposition. I'll send 2 scouts from
2nd squad to check out the other side of the street.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/04-12.jpg
Goddamn it! MG42 has been set-up to guard the east approach. Should've probably
seen that coming.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/05-9.jpg
I'll move the rest of the 2nd squad to the top floor of a nearby building to
piss on the MG42.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/06-8.jpg
Victory!
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/07-6.jpg
2nd squad also spots another MG42 on the west approach and a command team
inside the church.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/08-3.jpg
I move 1st squad forward who get into a firefight with a small german
team right across the street.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/09-2.jpg
The Germans give up quickly and run away.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/10-2.jpg
2/2 heads over to 3rd platoon to offer assistance.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/11-2.jpg
The 2 Germans left of the closest MG42 undo their decision to surrender
and pick up their weapons, bad move given they are surrounded.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/12-1.jpg
2/2 is ordered to swing over to the southeast side.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/13-1.jpg
1/2 blasts through the hedgerow which scares a small squad of Germans occupying
the building.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/14-1.jpg
They try to run away but Jenkins' boys gun them down.
"The Bells are Calling" (Part 2/2)
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/01-20.jpg
1/2 & 1/3 dash across a field to seize the west approach
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/02-20.jpg
Some resistance is met,
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/03-19.jpg
but nothing superior firepower can't fix.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/04-13.jpg
The building complex is secured. Both German teams seen in the shot retreated after a short firefight.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/05-10.jpg
With the church now empty, I order 1/3 to climb up to the tower as they have both .30-cal
and a sniper rifle.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/06-9.jpg
On the southern flank, 2/2 & 2/3 slowly make their way towards the south approach.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/07-7.jpg
Not much opposition here either. Few Germans are holed up inside the building across
the street, so while 2/2 provides covering fire, 2/3 assaults and finishes off the last Germans.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/08-4.jpg
This would be much easier if my silly mortars hadn't wasted all their grenades in the first mission.
---------------------------------------------------
Decision time!
-------
"No Platoon Left Behind"
0345 6 June 1944, Village S of C CO. DZ
Evans stared down the main street, his ears still ringing from the sounds of
gunfire. Finally, the moment he had been waiting for arrived as Lt. Ford emerged
from a house at the end of the road and walked calmly back to Evans' position.
"All clear, sir. We searched everywhere, and there're no Krauts left 'cept for
dead ones."
Evans allowed himself to relax a little. "Good work. Let's go to the church and
see how Johnson's getting on."
The three officers and their headquarters elements walked wordlessly up the
small hill to the village church. As they were about to enter the church,
Lt. Johnson came out to meet them.
"Well, we needn't have worried," said the stocky Minnesotan. "Church isn't in
good shape; the stairs up to the bell tower are broken. No way anyone's getting
up there."
"What about a ladder?" mused Bautz. "Is there anything nearby anyone could use?"
Johnson shook his head. "No, sir, there were no Krauts up there. If there were,
we'd have known by now."
"No, I think Ben's talking about anything we could use," said Evans.
"Think we could get someone up there?"
Johnson thought for a bit. "I'll get some guys on it, sir." It would provide an
awfully good vantage point."
"Right, get to work," said Evans. Evans, and Ford began to walk back down the
small hill to the main street, when one of Ford's paratroopers approached the pair.
"Captain, sir," said the soldier. "There's a street sign a bit down the road.
Says Sainte-Mére-Èglise is down the road that way. Also, 1st Platoon managed
to find us."
Lieutenant Spurgin emerged from one of the houses. "Good to see you, sir. Thanks
for providin' all that gunfire. Made for one hell of a beacon."
"Glad you could make it, Lieutenant," said Evans, clasping the tall Texan's hand.
Ford, looking at the road sign, shook his head. "That doesn't make sense. This says
Sainte-Mére-Église is to the west."
Evans groaned. "****. I knew this was too good to be true. Looks like we landed
between the 505th and 101st."
Bautz demurred. "I don't know, sir. If we landed between them, I would expect to
have seen more of their guys. We haven't seen anyone except ourselves and the Krauts."
"I know, Lieutenant, but it's the only thing that makes sense. We've got to get
to Sainte-Mére-Èglise before the 505th gets their asses kicked."
"Agreed, sir. Let's go."
"Hold on, sir," said Spurgin. "Are we going to leave anyone in the village?"
"I don't see why we should," said Ford. "Keep our combat power at maximum."
"And if we're wrong about where we are, we'll have nowhere we can come back to.
What if the Germans take it back when we leave, and we've got nowhere safe to hole up?"
Evans thought about it for a moment, and came to a conclusion.
---------------------------------------------------
1) Leave a platoon in the village
2) Take your whole company westward
Leave a platoon in the village. Better be safe than sorry!
Arclight
07-25-12, 01:27 PM
I dunno, you're surrounded to begin with right? If you get pushed out of Ste. Mere-Eglise, it's either back to the beach or be left behind in enemy territory.
I'd say move on with the company, link up with friendly forces in Ste. Mere-Eglise and hold it untill reinforcements arrive. Think you'll need full strength to hold it anyway.
Not sure a lone platoon can do much to hold a town to begin with. The element of surprise is gone; they will be pushing back soon enough. :hmmm:
Raptor1
07-25-12, 01:38 PM
Take the entire company westwards. A single platoon isn't going to be able to hold the entire village against any determined assault, and if the enemy is there in enough strength to force you to retreat back even with a full company then it's also nearly certainly going to have the capability to cut you off from your detached platoon and defeat you in detail.
Nicely done! :up: You've really done a good job cleaning up here.
I say leave the platoon.
Myeah, guess I'm doing "ok". Casualties are starting to mound up, tho.
Think I've lost 10 guys in total and quite a few are wounded.
Also, the damn mortars are pissing me off still, the other one has only 6 grenades
and the other expended all of his during the first mission. :/\\!!
Ah well, at least I got Spurgin's platoon to help out now. :hmmm:
I hope I don't come across any armor, I hate fighting armor as infantry in CM. :dead:
Move westwards. Staying in one place for too long is just asking for trouble.
"Bridge to Somewhere" (Part 1/2)
0345 6 June 1944, Village S of C CO. DZ
"Bautz, gather up Johnson's boys. We're taking this road together."
***
0430 6 June 1944, W of Village
One of the scouts returned to Evans as the paratroopers made their way down the
road. "Looks like a bridge over a river up ahead, sir," said the scout.
"Good. I think there are a couple of rivers just to the east of Sainte-Mére-Èglise.
We're on the right track!" Evans turned to his platoon commanders. "Ok, boys,
we take this bridge, and we should be in Sainte-Mére-Église in no time."
-------------------------------------------------------------
Mission
Seize the bridge in order to be able to continue your advance westward.
We're trying to get to Sainte-Mére-Èglise, and this bridge is a major choke
point along the road. We need to find a way across the river in order to continue
our advance.
Friendly Forces
The entire company is assembled and ready to seize the bridge.
Enemy Forces
The bridge is likely held by enemy infantry in unknown strength. Be cautious
and expect anything.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/01-21.jpg
3rd Platoon moves along the left flank and cleans up any pockets of Germans
they might encounter. Evans leads the rest of C Company from building to building
towards the bridge.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/02-21.jpg
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/03-20.jpg
Both teams send their scouts ahead.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/04-14.jpg
With no threats visible, Spurgin's 1st Platoon is ordered to prepare to move
through the hedgerow and occupy the buildings on the other side.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/05-11.jpg
Meanwhile, the 3rd platoon have more or less secured the first batch of buildings.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/06-10.jpg
Lt. Ford's 2nd platoon is called in, in case they are needed to support 1 Plt.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/07-8.jpg
1st platoon's scouts head through the hedges.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/08-5.jpg
The scouts report no contacts, good enough for me. 1st platoon, move up!
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/09-3.jpg
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/10-3.jpg
http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z174/theobnox/fuuuuuuuuuuuu.jpg
"Bridge to Somewhere" (Part 2/2)
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/01-22.jpg
I pull the troops out of the buildings and give Spurgin's platoon the order to
move in.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/02-22.jpg
3rd platoon is given the task of hitting the Germans' flank.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/03-21.jpg
Under fire from both the 1st platoon and the elements of the 3rd, the first
line of buildings is quickly cleared.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/04-15.jpg
Time to get rid of those pesky Germans on the other side of the river.
1st Platoon's mortar team gets the job.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/05-12.jpg
More Germans fell now that I have a solid line of guns pointed at them.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/06-11.jpg
Things calm down a bit. No time to rest, 2nd and 3rd platoon, move up!
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/07-9.jpg
2/2 makes a backdoor into the building, while 2/3 keeps a small group of Germans
pinned down in the trench.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/08-6.jpg
The German(s) in the trench quickly start to retreat, only to be gunned down
on the open field.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/09-4.jpg
Oh wow, I was expecting 6-7 KIA.
-------------------------------------------------------------
"Déjà Vu"
0600 6 June 1944, Bridge W of Village
"****," observed Evans. "Where the hell is this ****ing city?" He threw his arms
up in frustration.
"God damn it," concurred Bautz.
The pair had encountered another road sign to Sainte-Mère-Èglise, this time pointing
along the direction they'd just come from.
"****. See if you can find anyone or anything that can tell us where the hell we are!"
barked Evans.
Bautz began barking orders in turn. Over the next few minutes, the scouts of
Company C fanned out and began looking for clues. "The rest of you, get some rest,"
said Evans. Within minutes, most of the company had found a comfortable patch of ground,
and had fallen into a sleep as deep as only soldiers in combat are capable of.
***
0645 6 June 1944
"Sir! I found a local!" reported one of the returning scouts. The GI had a young
farm boy by the hand, whom he brought over to the company command post, such as it was.
"Do you speak English?" asked Evans, slowly and clearly. Without waiting for a
response, he asked, "Where are we?"
The boy shook his head in confusion.
"Here, sir," said Bautz. "I speak a little French."
"Go ahead," said Evans. He moved aside for his XO to begin. Bautz talked for a bit
with the boy. Evans didn't understand any of it, and he began examining his
surroundings, and trying to see anything that could help.
"He says we're at the bridge over the Merderet," reported Bautz.
Evans scratched his head. "The Merderet?" That's well west of Sainte-Mère-Èglise,
he said. "Ask him where we are in relation to the city."
Bautz began his stumbling conversation in French again. After a while, he turned
back to Evans. "I think he said we're northwest of Sainte-Mère-Èglise. He said
we should go back through the town we came in from, go a bit to the east, and we
should hit a big highway from there that we should take south straight into the city."
Evans nodded. "That must be the road that Spurgin found."
The boy spoke up again. Bautz had to ask him to repeat a few things, but he got
the gist of it and returned to Evans. "He says the Krauts have been uprooting and
either destroying or turning road signs around. That's probably why we ended up over here."
"Well, ****. Nothing more for it now. Let's head back." He approached the boy.
"Thank you," he said slowly. He gave the boy one of his rock-hard chocolate bars.
The boy seemed to appreciate it anyway.
Sound tactic, we did the same during the invasion scare. Road signs were moved or taken down, railway station signs painted over or removed, heck we even built 'dummy towns' which had lights on at night to confuse bombers.
Still, at least these guys made it down with their guns and mostly in the target area rather than scattered all over the French countryside like their compatriots in the 101st.
Yes, guns are good. :woot:
------
"Déjà Vu" (Part 1/2)
Mission
Retake the town. In particular, seize the church and the eastern exit.
Destroy the German forces in the town.
Desired endstate: no Germans left in town, and our company prepared to re-orient
ourselves and figure out how to get into Sainte-Mère-Èglise.
Friendly Forces
The entirety of C Company is on hand.
Enemy Forces
It is likely that enemy forces in the village are mostly infantry.
However, now that the invasion has begun in earnest, all guarantees are off.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/01-23.jpg
I start this one by purely scouting with the 1st Platoon.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/02-23.jpg
The immediate area to the front looks clear, so 3rd Platoon starts to scout out
the right flank.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/03-22.jpg
3rd Platoon begins to take fire from the church, but it seems to be only a small
group of Germans in there.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/04-16.jpg
Small group of easily scared Germans.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/05-13.jpg
2nd Platoon start their advance along the right side of the street. Their goal
is to secure the church and get troops up that tower.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/06-12.jpg
A German MG42 team opens up on Jenkins' 1/2, no casualties however.
Need to get a mortar team to take care of that.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/07-10.jpg
1/2 assaults the church, which appears to be abandoned.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/08-7.jpg
Meanwhile, 1st Platoon punches a hole through the hedges. They should be able
to give good covering fire from inside of those buildings.
Hottentot
07-26-12, 11:54 AM
Awesome read and great pictures. The only downside it that they make me wish the series would revisit the Eastern front...:wah:
The only downside it that they make me wish the series would revisit the Eastern front...:wah:
Only if they hire the same amazing voice actors to do the Finnish voices!! :D
"Déjà Vu" (Part 2/2)
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/01-30.jpg
2/1 rushes to the buildings under fire, fortunately they take no casualties.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/02-28.jpg
On the right flank, 3rd Platoon starts it's advance eastward after making sure
there's no Germans in any of the buildings. 2nd Platoon's 1st squad is seen
climbing the church tower in the background.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/03-24.jpg
Ok.. Bad idea!
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/04-18.jpg
3rd platoon quickly forces the Germans on the right flank to concentrate on
something more important than a single squad in a church; their own survival.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/05-14.jpg
Jenkins' squad suffered quite heavily in their attempt to climb the tower.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/06-13.jpg
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/07-11.jpg
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/08-8.jpg
Back on the right flank, 3rd platoon goes for the brute force approach.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/09-5.jpg
Someone's about to have a VERY bad day.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/10-4.jpg
2/2 heads over to the church to help out Jenkins.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/11-3.jpg
They try to climb the tower together, hoping to reach the wounded and get them treated.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/12-2.jpg
But the Germans have other plans.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/13-2.jpg
3rd platoon's turn to save the day, once again.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/14-2.jpg
Rifle grenade in yo face!!
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/15-1.jpg
And that's why you are not the 1st squad, Johnson.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/16.jpg
He soon realized that a rifle might be a more appropriate tool for the situation.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/17.jpg
Suddenly, it got very quiet. Not a single shot rang for the remainder of the turns. :doh:
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/18.jpg
Bull, I'm calling win on this one. :)
Aaah, the deadly field binoculars, a fearsome weapon. :yep:
"Stem the Tide"
0730 6 June 1944, Village S of C CO. DZ
"****, I didn't think we'd need to clear this goddamn village twice," spat Bautz.
"Neither did I." The two men tried to shut out the cries of the wounded from the
second assault on the town. Ford and Johnson approached; Ford came from the fields
to the north, while Johnson came from the church. "What do you have for me, boys?"
Ford spoke up. "We found a crashed glider just to the north. Poor bastards were
shot to pieces by the Germans as they exited. Still, we got plenty of ammo from
them. With your permission, sir, I'll have the company take turns grabbing ammo."
Evans nodded, Ford went about his duties, and Johnson reported in.
"Found a ladder in one of the barns. I think we may be able to use it to get into
the church tower."
"Right. Let's take a whack at it."
Johnson motioned toward the church. "Sure thing, sir. Lead the way."
***
"Seems safe, sir," shouted the young private who had been sent up to test the ladder.
"Right, I'm coming up," replied Evans. Upon reaching the top of the bell tower,
Evans raised his binoculars to his eyes. As he looked to the south, he could see
the city of Sainte-Mère-Èglise. "Looks good, boys, I can see the city."
Evans then began scanning the terrain to see if he could tell how to get there.
He saw a large highway running north to south, and then he saw the trucks moving
down that road at high speed. With a sigh, Evans climbed down the ladder.
"Well, I gave you the good news," he said to his assembled lieutenants.
"The bad news is, the Krauts are sending a ****load of guys down the road."
"****ing great," moaned Bautz. "Well, what do we do?"
"Sir!" cried Blaes. "I got the radio working."
"Well," replied Evans, "maybe we'll get our answer here. See if you can reach
battalion. Or maybe the 505th."
Blaes fiddled with the radio for a bit, and then reported, "Sir, I've got 2/505
on the horn."
Evans picked up the radio receiver. "Captain Evans, commanding officer, Company C,
1st Battalion, 508th PIR, whom am I speaking to?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Parkinson, CO of 2/505," came the response.
"What's your position, Captain?"
"I'm holed up in a village north of Sainte-Mère-Èglise. I've got my whole company
on hand, but we've taken some casualties. I take it you all need help down there?"
"Hell yes we do, Captain. Krauts are sending a ****load of infantry down the
highway to the north. See if you can do something about it. My men are holding
the north bridge to the town, but they're badly outnumbered."
"Yes, sir. I'll do what I can. Hope to see you in a couple of hours."
"So do I, Captain. Parkinson out."
Evans assembled his company. "All right, everyone! Listen up! The Krauts are
sending a lot of guys down the highway from the north to Sainte-Mère-Èglise.
We need to help the 505th out and get into the city ourselves. We're going to
ambush the Krauts on the road, try to kill as many as we can, and then link
up with the 505th at the northern bridge to the town."
As the ment set to work preparing to move out and gathering supplies from the
glider, only the officers remained with Evans. "Sounds good, sir," said Spurgin.
"But do you know where we're going to ambush them Jerries?"
Evans smiled. "I saw an excellent spot from the church tower, actually. You'll see."
-------
Weekend break!
:()1:
:ahoy:
:lost:
"Stem the Tide" (Part 1/2)
Mission
Destroy as many German forces as possible and then fall back before taking too
many casualties.
This is a good ambush point to kill as many Germans as possible. However, more
important is the survival of the company. Fall back if the inevitable German
counterattack is too dangerous.
Friendly Forces
We have the entirety of C Company available. We have been resupplied from
glider drops.
Enemy Forces
The enemy forces moving to attack Sainte-Mère-Èglise seem to consist of truck-
borne infantry supported by a handful of armored vehicles.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/01-31.jpg
I'm kinda starting to run out of guys here, but this should do it. 3 plt, HQ and
1 plt can shoot anything that comes down the road, while 2 plt covers the
left flank.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/02-29.jpg
Two trucks come racing down the road. The first one almost gets to the exit
point(the green bit on the ground), but fortunately 3 plt manages to stop it.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/03-25.jpg
The second truck is ambushed by 1 plt just after it crosses the bridge.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/04-19.jpg
The next wave of Germans seems to stop at the hedgeline instead of coming
down the road. Clever girls.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/05-15.jpg
Luckily I got those freshly supplied mortars, so Evans calls in one of them
to rain on the hedgeline.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/06-14.jpg
Reaaally could use that mortar strike right about now!!
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/07-12.jpg
Bwahahahahaa-
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/08-9.jpg
-ahaahaAHAHAHA!!! MORE!! MORE!!!!
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/09-6.jpg
Take that!
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/10-5.jpg
And that! Giving up alrea-
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/11-4.jpg
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/cry.gif
http://www.8bitlevel.com/sites/default/files/mario_dies.jpg
Good work so far Dowly, especially with Deja Vu! You did somewhat better on that one than I did - that was the one that had me pulling my hair out, cause it sure was a costly one retaking the town. TBH I would've kept a platoon in there to see what would happen, I suspect it would've been possible to keep the Germans at bay.
I kept quiet cause I didn't wanna spoil the Stug surprise for you. I am also gonna keep quiet now cause I don't wanna keep spoiling it, but keep it up! :O:
Deja Vu was PITA, but I'd play 3 of them in a row with no resupplies rather
than go against not one, but two StuGs. And not just any StuGs, but StuG IIIGs! :/\\!!
"Stem the Tide" (Part 2/2)
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/01-35.jpg
Heeere Stuggy Stuggy Stuggy
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/02-32.jpg
Gotcha!
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/03-27.jpg
No? Ok, how about now?
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/04-20.jpg
Uh.. third time's the charm?
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/05-16.jpg
Stop being.. so.. Stug!
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/06-15.jpg
Finally! The fourth 'zooka round knocks the bloody thing titties up.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/07-13.jpg
The second Stug reverses out of harm's way.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/08-10.jpg
I send my Bazooka team to hunt it down.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/09-7.jpg
You son of a...
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/10-6.jpg
Come back and take what's coming to you! I'll bite your treads off!
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/11-5.jpg
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/12-3.jpg
Shish kebab!
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/13-3.jpg
While all this clowning was taking place, the German infantry had
apparently launched an counter-attack of sorts. Looked to me that
most of it got stopped, but I have a pretty big problem:
My guys are out of ammo. Tho, the Germans seem to have the same problem.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/14-3.jpg
So I fallback (=cease fire) as the briefing tells me to do when I'm
happy with the inflicted damage.
Throw rocks at them? :hmmm:
"One Last Time"
0825, 6 June 1944, Bridge N of Sainte-Mère-Èglise
"Good job, boys. Now we've only got to keep heading south and we'll be in
Sainte-Mère-Èglise." The company set off along the road to the south, when
the sounds of gunfire erupted only a few hundred yards in front of them.
"Come on, gents! I think we're almost there now!" Evans said as he led
his men to the assistance of the paratroopers defending the north bridge to
Sainte-Mère-Èglise.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Mission
Destroy the German forces attempting to break through to Sainte-Mère-Èglise.
We've actually found the 505th and our D-Day objective. Help our boys fend
off the attack and then we can get some rest.
Friendly Forces
Currently available is 3/D/2/505PIR. They have been defending this bridge
for some two hours, and have been taking casualties. C Company, 1/508PIR,
will arrive in five to ten minutes.
Enemy Forces
We are facing some enemy infantry and armored, along with the survivors of
the ambush C Company just conducted.
-------------------------------------------------------------
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/01-40.jpg
Ouch. I'm supposed to defend this place with only one platoon? Ok then.
I set the mortar team so it can fire down the road if needed, the MG team
has a good firing line to the bridge and I have an AT team by the bridge to
the right.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/02-34.jpg
The first four minutes, nothing happens. But I start to see movement on the
right side of the road. Wait, where are they attacking from!?
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/03-29.jpg
Around the same time, C/508 arrives to the scene. Still not sure where the
Germans are coming from, I spread the Company all along the hedgeline.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/04-21.jpg
C/508 gets to the hedgeline and I get a better view at the Germans. Looks
like they're coming from the northwest.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/05-17.jpg
Welcome to the party!
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/06-16.jpg
The German line grows thinner, but they are still holding up.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/07-14.jpg
I let the 505th loose, which sparks an attack from the German side.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/08-11.jpg
But they don't get very far.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/09-8.jpg
10 minutes remaining and I have run into a small problem...
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/10-7.jpg
C Company is virtually out of ammo.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/11-6.jpg
"C Company! Fix bayonets!"
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/12-4.jpg
Guess they are out of ammo too.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/13-4.jpg
Except for this rambo.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/14-4.jpg
Catch!
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/15-2.jpg
Tee hee, suckeers!
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/16-1.jpg
Well that worked better than I thought.
-------------------------------------------------------------
"A Job Well Done"
"Captain Evans, I presume?" asked a tall lieutenant colonel with bushy
eyebrows, approaching C Company from the town.
"Yes, sir." Evans saluted the officer.
"Lieutenant Colonel Parkinson," said Parkinson, extending his hand.
Evans shook it. "Glad you made it. I heard you helped my boys at the northern
bridge out of a sticky situation."
"Just doing what I had to do, sir," said Evans. "Let me know what my company
can do for you."
Parkinson smiled. "For now, your boys can have a well-deserved rest.
Get resupplied, find a place to lie down for a few hours. I'll let you know
if you're needed after that, and I'll try to put you in touch with your
battalion. But for now, partly thanks to you, we're secure here.
Take a break; you've earned it."
-------------------------------------------------------------
The End :salute:
Nice stuff, well fought Dowly. Captures the chaos of the Airbourne landings at Normandy very well, particularly with the ammo problems with both American and German troops as the airforce nail their supply lines.
Thanks! :salute:
Yea, I agree. The narrative was very well written for a fictional campaign. :yep:
I see he has made another narrative campaign from the German side
during the Operation Lüttich (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_L%C3%BCttich) which I've had my eyes on ever since I started
this one. :hmmm:
Wow, you actually killed both of those StuGs, something I never succeeded at! :o :o
Great work! I think your overall casualties were slightly higher than mine (I had 30 KIA, 27 WIA at the end of my campaign), but killing those StuGs sure paid off for you I think. In my case, the best I managed was just immobilizing one with mortar fire on the last mission. On the other hand, I took few casualties on the last two (10KIA in total), mostly because I kept out of range. The one thing I discovered in the ambush mission is that if you wait, the StuGs (like the trucks) just go up the road and then move off the map. That way I ended up trapping a whole pile of Germans without the StuG support.
Deja Vu was my worst one. Half of my casualties for the whole campaign happened there. That's why I was kicking myself for not leaving a platoon, though I wonder how that would've gone...
Good work! That's a lot of dead Germans indeed!
Red October1984
08-08-12, 01:21 PM
What game is this? I see these AAR things but dont know what they are. :hmmm:
What game is this? I see these AAR things but dont know what they are. :hmmm:
Combat Mission: Battle for Normandy (CMBN for short)
@CCIP
My total casualties were 48 KIA / 39 WIA
German casualties were 214 KIA / 161 WIA / 20 MIA
Must agree about those StuGs, the second one almost took out C CO HQ
towards the end of "Stem the Tide". :doh:
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