View Full Version : "All Hitler wants me to do..." - TOAW III AAR
"All Hitler wants me to do is to cross a river, capture Brussels, and then go on to take Antwerp. And all this at the worst time of the year through the Ardennes when the snow is waist-deep and there isn’t room to deploy four tanks abreast let alone armoured divisions. When it doesn’t get light until eight and it’s dark again at four and with re-formed divisions made up chiefly of kids and sick old men – and at Christmas."
-Sepp Dietrich, commander of Sixth SS Panzer Army
16th December, 1944 - 16th January, 1945.
Battle of the Bulge time it is in The Operational Art of War III. Scenario's map scale is 2.5km per hex, time scale half-day turns and unit scale battalion/regimental level. Game length is 60 turns. I'll be playing the Germans.
I'll be doing daily updates while the pace will be regularly irregular. Goal is to actually finish this in some time frame and I know I would feel pressured if I'd promise a certain pace and it would lead to not completing anything.
In short, this scenario covers the German offensive through Ardennes forest which goal was to cross Meuse and take Antwerpen, which would cut off the British troops in the north from American units in the south, and the eventual allied counter-attack. Victory points will be received from different towns and citys marked in the map with American flags as well as all crossing points at Meuse. There will also be permanent victory point locations which means (I assume) that if I take them I will receive the points from then even if the allied forces captures them afterwards.
* * *
Plan for the first days is to stretch the scattered allied forces to the limit by attacking and exploiting in every direction. I will have the upper hand as well as more troops for a week and a half at least and I should try to advance as far and as fast to the West as possible. Unfortunately Panzer divisions will be delayed for two or three turns before they are released which represents the historic delay in preparing the crossing sites for them or decisions to lead the initial attack with infantry divisions.
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/97e12dc8-c862-4331-8878-a5f18484c9b8.jpg~original (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Schiavona/media/97e12dc8-c862-4331-8878-a5f18484c9b8.jpg.html)
Legend:
Dashed lines: army boundaries
Red arrows: attack directions
Black circles: key objectives
Blue circles: if captured, Germans get a boost to supply
Initial goal is to capture the objectives marked with black circles as they are vital crossing points or crossroads. If allied forces manage to hold them too long, advance to Meuse -at least in force- can be forgotten as my forces will get stuck in traffic jams. Plan is to create a gap between Trois-Ponts and Houffalize so the armoured divisions coming in few days can be channeled through quickly. But I will roll with the punches as more intel is gathered on whereabouts of allied forces. In that regard, Trois-Ponts - Houffalize sector should be quite lightly defended.
6th SS Panzer army will exploit the Losheim gap and drive West for Trois-Ponts. Leading unit will be Kampfgruppe Peiper composed of different armoured elements. Meanwhile other divisions will try to capture Büllingen with its supplies and push the enemy behind the river running from Trois-Ponts to Büllingen thus widening the corridor.
5th Panzer army is tasked to take St.Vith and Vielsalm and the roads leading to Houffalize and Bastogne. If the fight for Bastogne is getting too heavy, it will be bypassed and pocketed.
7th Army is quite weak with almost no armoured elements. Its goal for the first days is to take Ettelbruck and ultimately stall the allied reinforcements coming from the South and screen the Trois-Ponts - Houffalize gap.
Initiative is mine for the first week and a half or so but after allied reinforcements start to come in and especially Patton's forces from the South, I will lose the initiative and I have to get defensive. But, we'll see how it goes. Probably not very well.
* * *
Table of Contents
December 16th (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=2125627&postcount=2)
December 17th (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=2125837&postcount=3)
December 18th (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=2126464&postcount=11)
December 19th (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=2127250&postcount=16)
December 20th (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=2129703&postcount=19)
December 21st (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=2135620&postcount=24)
December 16th, 1944
In the early hours of December 16th, three German armies launch an attack against weakly defended Ardennes forest region. The allies are almost completely surprised as German divisions cross Our river and start a swift advance to the West.
In the north Operation Greif, led by the infamous Otto Skorzeny aka Dr. Sola, was at least partially successful and the 150th Panzer brigade disguised as an American unit slipped through American lines and advanced near St. Vith. Meanwhile 3FJ Division pushed American troops troops towards Büllingen and opened a road for Kampfgruppe Peiper. In the afternoon Operation Stösser was launched and Von der Heydte's fallschirmjägers were dropped north of Malmedy to secure a crossroad and stall the American reinforcements.
In the center engineers are tasked to repair the blown bridges crossing river Our for panzer divisions while infantry divisions advance across the river. 2.Pz division and Pz Lehr division are waiting for the bridges to be built.
In the South 3FJ division captures Diekirch five kilometers North-East of Ettelbruck. Three other Volksgrenadier divisions advances south with ease.
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/bfee9faa-b30a-48c6-b7ed-f21669edc6a5.jpg~original (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Schiavona/media/bfee9faa-b30a-48c6-b7ed-f21669edc6a5.jpg.html)
Positions at the end of the day.
[Maps got quite messy. Hopefully not too multicolored and cluttered... Also, I don't know why place names are not showing up properly.
December 17th, 1944
6th SS Panzer army sector
3FJ division cleared the road and captured Büllingen with its supplies. KG Peiper, 1SS Pz division and 12SS Pz division advanced almost unopposed towards Malmedy. Elements of Skorzeny Brigade captured Schönberg East of St. Vith and thus closes the Schnee-Eifel pocket. 1SS, 12SS and KG Peiper will not participate in the battle for St. Vith - it will be left for the 5th Panzer army - but slide around it and take Malmedy, Trois-Ponts and Vielsalm. Vielsalm might be a tough not to crack as an American armoured division just passed through it to reinforce St. Vith.
In the far north Americans made their first attack with their newly arrived armoured division and forced a regiment of 272. VG Division to retreat. This forces me to direct just arrived 3. Panzer Grenadier Divisions there. Otherwise things are looking reasonably good. 3FJ Divisions might be tasked with taking Elsenborn, even though that wasn't the original plan, as it seems to be lightly defended.
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/bde36047-12ad-435c-9399-da6498f2d268.jpg~original (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Schiavona/media/bde36047-12ad-435c-9399-da6498f2d268.jpg.html)
5th Panzer army sector
116. Panzer division and Führer Begleit division will take the important crossroad town of St. Vith and then turn West for Vielsalm to support 1SS division.
Clervaux withstood the morning attack of the 2. Panzer division and the attack conducted by the Panzer Lehr in the afternoon. It should fall next morning. Otherwise Lehr will be gravely delayed. Speed is the key here and any delays, even half-day delays, might cause us to lose the race for Bastogne. 26. Volksgrenadier division is waiting for supplies and gathering its strength before moving towards the town of Wiltz, South-East of Bastogne.
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/646b6acf-b622-44d9-bdea-8312d78108a0.jpg~original (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Schiavona/media/646b6acf-b622-44d9-bdea-8312d78108a0.jpg.html)
7th army sector
5FJ Division didn't manage to dislodge the American troops in Ettelbruck. The three other infantry divisions pocketed a mechanized and an armoured battalion around Beaufort. After taking care of the pocket and the town of Ettelbruck, 7th army will move South-West and start preparing a defensive line. The army is too weak to accomplish any significant advances.
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/fc4d2768-fb6f-455a-9ae3-90b6552ebd42.jpg~original (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Schiavona/media/fc4d2768-fb6f-455a-9ae3-90b6552ebd42.jpg.html)
Positions at the end of the day
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/e1935f52-c2f1-4df7-b292-81a3e230e3be.jpg~original (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Schiavona/media/e1935f52-c2f1-4df7-b292-81a3e230e3be.jpg.html)
St. Vith is a bottleneck. The speed of the advance to the West is partly tied to the question of how long St. Vith will hold. One option might be pocketing it, but I fear it woud tie up too many units. In the North the 6th SS Pz Army has advanced more quickly than expected. Hopefully they will keep their pace.
Stealhead
10-09-13, 02:42 PM
Is this the Bulge scenario that comes with TOAWIII?
Mine does not have the mountain/hill icons.:hmmm: Or maybe you are using the optional icons.
Oh this is the Ardennes secnario.Pretty good one.
I must get TOAWIII one of these days, I had some sort of version of it a veeeery long time ago on a CD with Grigsbys Battle of Britain and...I think Gettysburg. Stupid me lost the damn disc back before I came to realise what I had. It confused the heck out of me back then, and I'm sure it'd confuse the heck out of me now, but the scenarios look fantastic.
Stealhead
10-09-13, 08:52 PM
It confused the heck out of me back then, and I'm sure it'd confuse the heck out of me now, but the scenarios look fantastic.
Honestly TOAW does not have an overly complex set of rules.You just have to remember to give each stack their orders(dig in,reserve,that sort of thing).I find it much easier than HOI3 to attack and defend.You can also very easily order units to be in reserve.Also the stacks much more logically support each other.It seems pretty easy to me not to say that wining is easy but I can defend and advance as I want to/need to in order to deal with the developing situation if I begin to loose it is not due to failure to use stacks properly.
Oh this is the Ardennes secnario.Pretty good one.
Yes. It seems to be quite well done. I'm not sure how it will handle the fuel and ammo shortage, though. Is it just reduced supplies or is it not represented. Or can it even be accurately represented in this game.
I must get TOAWIII one of these days, I had some sort of version of it a veeeery long time ago on a CD with Grigsbys Battle of Britain and...I think Gettysburg. Stupid me lost the damn disc back before I came to realise what I had. It confused the heck out of me back then, and I'm sure it'd confuse the heck out of me now, but the scenarios look fantastic.
It's not too expensive even now, around £33, but I if you are not in rush to get it I'd recommend waiting for the matrixgames' holiday sales which begins in November. I'm waiting for it to grab WitE, which is way too expensive for me now.
As Steelhead pointed out, TOAW is not too complicated. Basically you can learn the fundamentals in a day but it will take some time to learn to use your forces effectively. I haven't learned to use them effectively. As it might be seen in the updates (and perhaps that's the reason I haven't delved in particular battles but have been only reporting in larger scale :O:)
Stealhead
10-10-13, 03:37 PM
Yes. It seems to be quite well done. I'm not sure how it will handle the fuel and ammo shortage, though. Is it just reduced supplies or is it not represented. Or can it even be accurately represented in this game.
It says in the description that the Germans get a temporary supply boost for capturing Allied depots marked with a "*" after the village name.I think the fuel shortage is designed into this particular scenario of course it means low on all supplies.Most of the scenarios use different means to simulate things that the TOAW engine is unable to fully.
The game does have a pretty good supply system except it simulates all supplies.(which is some what realistic typically the most effective army does have all of the supplies that it needs.)
Anyway what said is true about unit types you do have to use them correctly or you will not get the best results.There are many different unit icons but the unit size is important.Page 30 and 31 tell you what the unit cards and all the numbers mean.One thing you should look for is an "E" on an enemy unit card (assuming you have the recon to know his disposition) and "E" means that unit is entrenched and will be very hard to assault.The numbers on the bottom left are the units attack strength and on the bottom right are its defensive strength. For example in the 3rd post the 2nd regiment of the 3rdFJ(near the hill) it has a fairly strong attack and offensive ability.
Page 80 and 81 lists all of the unit icons if you are curious it can be hard to remember all of them.
Stealhead
10-10-13, 11:15 PM
Something else I forgot to mention are HQs they have a control radius that normally is not shown on the map.
In the "radio" section (right hand side of the screen) the 4th button down in the left most vertical row if you cycle that button one shows the command radius of HQ units.It will also show the attack radius of any artillery or air unit as well if you select such a unit.
It says in the description that the Germans get a temporary supply boost for capturing Allied depots marked with a "*" after the village name.I think the fuel shortage is designed into this particular scenario of course it means low on all supplies.Most of the scenarios use different means to simulate things that the TOAW engine is unable to fully.
The game does have a pretty good supply system except it simulates all supplies.(which is some what realistic typically the most effective army does have all of the supplies that it needs.)
I suppose it's abstracted to that then. I imagine it would be too hard or even impossible to simulate running out of fuel for a turn or two for this engine.
Anyway what said is true about unit types you do have to use them correctly or you will not get the best results.There are many different unit icons but the unit size is important.Page 30 and 31 tell you what the unit cards and all the numbers mean.One thing you should look for is an "E" on an enemy unit card (assuming you have the recon to know his disposition) and "E" means that unit is entrenched and will be very hard to assault.The numbers on the bottom left are the units attack strength and on the bottom right are its defensive strength. For example in the 3rd post the 2nd regiment of the 3rdFJ(near the hill) it has a fairly strong attack and offensive ability.
Page 80 and 81 lists all of the unit icons if you are curious it can be hard to remember all of them.
I think I have a decent grasp of the fundamentals of hex-and-counter wargaming as I've played tabletop wargames and computer wargames since I was a child.
I guess what I meant with not having learned to use forces effectively is that I have a feeling I'm not using units as effectively as they could be or not conducting attacks as effectively as they could be. To prove my statement I've been attacking Clervaux with Panzer Lehr and it being a fairly large town and with a battalion of entrenched infantry defending it, attacking with armoured and mechanized units is definitely not that effective.
Something else I forgot to mention are HQs they have a control radius that normally is not shown on the map.
In the "radio" section (right hand side of the screen) the 4th button down in the left most vertical row if you cycle that button one shows the command radius of HQ units.It will also show the attack radius of any artillery or air unit as well if you select such a unit.
Thanks! Was wondering about that.
[All screenshots also show the allied turn of December 19th as they got to move at once December 18th was concluded. Arrow styles are outrageously stolen from Raptor1...]
December 18th, 1944
6th SS Panzer army sector
3. Panzergrenadier division reinforced the northernmost sector. The weak gap East of Monschau came crumbling down and the Americans broke through. The gap will be plucked with the newly arrived 246. Volksgrenadier division. I could also send the 2.SS Panzer division there but as I don't expect any real advance made in the Monschau sector I'd rather send it through Losheim gap.
In the breakout the three divisions didn't make any real advances. Peiper and 12SS reached Stavelot and Malmedy but didn't manage to dislodge the engineer companies located there. Perhaps because armoured elements do not excel in attacking across a river to a town...
Also more allied reinforcements arrived from the West. The 82nd Airborne division seems to have settled East of Werbomont while the other units fortified the Malmedy-Savelot sector and Monschau.
1SS pushed towards St. Vith, even though it was meant to be left for the 5th Panzer army, mainly to help it fall more quickly and because allied units had time to block the roads leading there. Taking St. Vith will open a new avenue of approach.
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/Ardennes1944turn36thPzsector.jpg~original (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Schiavona/media/Ardennes1944turn36thPzsector.jpg.html)
5th Panzer army sector
Führer Begleit and 116Pz division arrived at the gates of St. Vith and it should fall within the next day with joint attack of 1SS division from the North. After taking St. Vith, Führer Bglt and 116Pz will attack Vielsalm with 1SS Panzer division.
2Pz division advanced 25 kilometers West unopposed and took Houffalize. They were stopped by American combat commands near Noville. Aggressive move left an opening for the allied units and they retook Heinerscheid.
Panzer Lehr is still banging its head against Clervaux. I should have ordered them to go around it from the North and bypassed the town or got some infantry regiments to help taking it.
26. VG division crossed the river and headed into American infantry battalions and a regiment from the just arrived 101st Airborne division.
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/Ardennes1944turn35thPzsector.jpg~original (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Schiavona/media/Ardennes1944turn35thPzsector.jpg.html)
7th Army sector
Ettelbruck finally fell in the attack of the 3FJ division. 276VG and 352VG divisions attacked the Beaufort pocket but the weakened Americans unit slipped past them.
A strong combat command of mixed armoured units showed up from the South and cut the 212VG division from its headquarters in Echternach. 7th Army is just too weak to do anything else but tie up American forces and distract them. In a few days a Führer grenadier regiment should be received as a reinforcement and it will certainly help holding the Patton's vanguard, at least to some degree.
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/Ardennes1944turn37thAsector.jpg~original (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Schiavona/media/Ardennes1944turn37thAsector.jpg.html)
Positions in the morning of the 19th
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/Ardennes194419thAMafteralliedturnborders.jpg~origi nal (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Schiavona/media/Ardennes194419thAMafteralliedturnborders.jpg.html)
Raptor1
10-11-13, 07:37 AM
If you run into dug-in units which are particularly troublesome, it might be a good idea to bombard them with artillery for a few rounds before assaulting, since heavy guns can cause units to lose entrenchment.
Do you have any units capable of repairing railroads? The rail (and road) junction in Bastogne looks like it could be quite useful for keeping units heading towards the Meuse in supply. Though of course that wouldn't be very useful if you have no supplies to send in the first place...
If you run into dug-in units which are particularly troublesome, it might be a good idea to bombard them with artillery for a few rounds before assaulting, since heavy guns can cause units to lose entrenchment.
Do you have any units capable of repairing railroads? The rail (and road) junction in Bastogne looks like it could be quite useful for keeping units heading towards the Meuse in supply. Though of course that wouldn't be very useful if you have no supplies to send in the first place...
Thanks for the tip. I tend to only use artillery when attacking. For some reason I've thought it to be ineffective when only bombarding. Even though preparatory barrage is quite basic tactic. Mandatory even if possible.
I do have a few engineer companies but I'm not sure of their railroad repairing capabilities.
Stealhead
10-11-13, 02:58 PM
One thing I really like about TOAWIII is that making AARs is fairly easy as the game automatically records the data for you.All you have to do is compile it and take some larger screens at key points.
One thing I really like about TOAWIII is that making AARs is fairly easy as the game automatically records the data for you.All you have to do is compile it and take some larger screens at key points.
That's true. I only yesterday realized how to get access to the log files game generates. News and battle reports. Quite handy, especially the battle reports as it seems to be impossible to take a screenshot from the game, at least with Fraps.
[Apparently it is only possible to open up the latest sitrep CSV file. Using the CSV processor found in the matrixgames' forums. Output file is in html format, but the guy made a file to make it possible to have it in .txt format instead. The instructions are so vague that I didn't get it how to do that.]
December 19th, 1944
6th SS Panzer Army sector
In the morning of December 19th, a motorized regiment from 1SS Pz division and an armoured battalion from Führer Begleit regiment launched an attack against St. Vith and took it with ease, finally connecting the 6SS Pz Army with the 5Pz Army beyond Our river. The attack left a pocket South of St. Vith including a mechanized battalion from 9th Armoured division.
12SS Panzer division eliminated the small engineer company located in Malmedy and captured it in the afternoon, while KG Peiper moved westwards. Skorzeny's 150. Panzer brigade was turned into a normal combat formation and it advanced towards Vielsalm with 1SS. 9SS and 2SS Pz divisions will be forwarded to Vielsalm. After taking it, the 9SS Pz division will turn North and take Trois-Ponts.
Near Monschau, 326. Volksgrenadier division pushed back 746th Tank battalion and trapped the 38th Cavalry squadron. 3PzGrn division made a move in the far north and started advancing towards Rötgen. Rötgen approach should relieve some pressure from the weaker line East of Monschau and Höfen.
Also Von der Heydte's Fallschirmjägers finally got in touch with own troops.
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/Ardennes19446Pz.jpg~original (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Schiavona/media/Ardennes19446Pz.jpg.html)
5th Panzer Army sector
116. Panzer division dashed West thirty kilometers ending with taking the important town of Manhay. Advancing further West would only result in getting cut from supply so the division will be used to either help taking Vielsalm or Trois-Ponts.
Most of the American troops of 106th Infantry division in the Schnee-Eifel pocket East of St. Vith surrenderd during the day, freeing the two infantry divisions keeping the pocket closed. They will be sent to close the St. Vith pocket. In the Southern half nothing really happened. Panzer Lehr will attack the heavily bombed Clervaux in the morning and hopefully make some progress in that regard.
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/Ardennes19445Pz.jpg~original (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Schiavona/media/Ardennes19445Pz.jpg.html)
7th Army sector
5FJ division cleared some ground around Ettelbruck. In the East the American combat command took the railroad bridge East of Echternach. Those sneaky combat commandses...
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/Ardennes19447A.jpg~original
Positions at the end of the day
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/Ardennes1944seuraavaturnpositiot-1.jpg~original (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Schiavona/media/Ardennes1944seuraavaturnpositiot-1.jpg.html)
Things are looking reasonably good for now. I have around two days before Patton's first major reinforcements start to arrive from the South. Capture of St. Vith and Malmedy was a huge relief. Unfortunately Panzer Lehr's failure in Clervaux has bogged down the attack in the center too much and bastogne can be forgotten. For now on Panzer Lehr and 2. Panzer division will act as a buffer between Patton and the divisions advancing West North of Houffalize.
The gap between Houffalize and Trois-Ponts is starting to open up and after Vielsalm is taken dash to the West is a go. Trois-Ponts might prove to be strongly defended and might be thus bypassed but we'll have to see how 9SS Pz Division fares. The Americans have to be pushed across Werche river to screen the gap.
Allied forces have made only few attacks, mainly in the North and South. They've mainly settled for bombarding the German forward positions.
Stealhead
10-13-13, 06:42 PM
That's true. I only yesterday realized how to get access to the log files game generates. News and battle reports. Quite handy, especially the battle reports as it seems to be impossible to take a screenshot from the game, at least with Fraps.
My EVGA card came with a GPU control program it allows me to take screen shots.With a game like TOAWIII I just fully expand the window as it takes a desktop screen with this game.Most other games it just takes a shot form the game not the desk top even if it is windowed.
You could try pressing ALT+PrintScreen that should a take a screen of your active window that is default Windows no extra program needed.Maybe try that in a fully expanded window and you can zoom in on a certain point when you want to.Of course after you take the screen you will have to open Paint or a similar program paste and then save the file.But you could do that to take screens of a battle as it happens.Though arrows have this same effect without taking lots of screens.
You could try pressing ALT+PrintScreen that should a take a screen of your active window that is default Windows no extra program needed.Maybe try that in a fully expanded window and you can zoom in on a certain point when you want to.Of course after you take the screen you will have to open Paint or a similar program paste and then save the file.But you could do that to take screens of a battle as it happens.Though arrows have this same effect without taking lots of screens.
Yes, that works. Though the procedure perhaps would bog me down eventually: Prt Scr->Paint->Ctrl+V->save change to allied loss screen: Prt Scr->Paint->Ctrl+V->save. With the battle log file converter I can see turn's every battle and the losses for each side. Of course that's not the most optimal solution as it only tells which battle report is which by giving hex coordinates.
December 20th, 1944
6th SS Panzer Army sector
A grim day for all fronts. Decisive Allied counterattacks push pack German forces while Germans gain only minor advances.
Allied motorized regiments with the support of armoured elements broke through near Schleiden east of Höfen. In the morning a weak engineer company plucked the gap but they were easily beaten. 3PzGrn started its attack in the far north.
Von der Heydte's Fallschirmjägers were eliminated completely and 12SS withstood a few attacks near Malmedy. Peiper's heavy Tiger battalion took heavy casualties south of Stavelot and they were forced to retreat. 9SS surrounded the American mechanized battalion in the morning but they were relieved in the afternoon by overwhelming attacks from the south-west.
2SS started its advance towards Vielsalm advancing five kilometers. Führer Begleit is short of supply and will wait for replenishment. South of Elsenborn the Volksgrenadier regiments are dealing with the remnants of the Schnee-Eifel pocket which are pestering the area. Peiper's armoured regiment crossed the river near Trois-Ponts to get in contact with the surrounded 116Pz division which suffered heavy casualties in the Allied counterattack.
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/Ardennes1944Dec216SSPzA.jpg~original (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Schiavona/media/Ardennes1944Dec216SSPzA.jpg.html)
5th Panzer Army sector
Counterattacks against all forward positions. As said, 116Pz division was surrounded and forced to retreat. 2Pz took casualties and was pushed back towards Houffalize. 26VG division took heavy casualties as well. Engineer company holding Gouvy was destroyed and the supply lines to 2Pz were cut. Americans also captured Hosingen and apparently crossed the Our river.
Panzer Lehr finally took Clervaux and will move towards Bastogne at once. Too little too late. Failure at Clervaux and failure to get more divisions west through Gouvy put the 2Pz and 116Pz at jeopardy. It doesn't look that good. And I fear I'm unable to send anything west at least for a day or two. And Patton is coming...
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/Ardennes1944Dec215thPzA.jpg~original (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Schiavona/media/Ardennes1944Dec215thPzA.jpg.html)
7th Army sector
Führer grenadier regiment arrived to the frontline in the afternoon. They will take care of that combat command and then prepare for Patton with the infantry divisions. 7. Army sector is the only sector where major setbacks didn't happen. Mostly because the Americans don't have enough forces to do really anything there. Neither do I on the other hand.
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/Ardennes1944Dec217A.jpg~original (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Schiavona/media/Ardennes1944Dec217A.jpg.html)
Positions in the morning of December 21st
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/Ardennes1944Dec21positions.jpg~original (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Schiavona/media/Ardennes1944Dec21positions.jpg.html)
It all seems to depend on how quickly Vielsalm-Gouvy gap can be opened. Doesn't look good. Doesn't look good at all.
Did the SS throw in the towel, or run out of petrol?
I was kind of interested in this.
I take it there are other WWII battles in this game. Could someone maybe comment on the mechanics and such in this game.
Did the SS throw in the towel, or run out of petrol?
I was kind of interested in this.
I take it there are other WWII battles in this game. Could someone maybe comment on the mechanics and such in this game.
No, towel hasn't been thrown yet. Though considering what kind of an utter and complete failure the offense has been it probably should be thrown. But I'll continue and get smashed by Patton.
There are scenarios for TOAW III from 19th to 21st century. And of course tons of user created scenarios which expand the scope even further. Over two hundred scenarios are included in the game. Scenarios vary on scope and detail. I think this particular scenario has the smallest scale with its 2.5km hexes (not sure though) and half-day turns. Then there are monster scenarios like Fire in the East which covers the entire eastern front from 41' to 45'. Any major battle or conflict, historical or semi-historical, most likely can be found in the scenarios.
If you have ever played tabletop wargames this is somewhat similar to those. Of course, as it's on computer all kinds of calculations is done by the computer and thus allows greater detail like keeping track of single vehicles and squads. Otherwise I'd call this a virtual board game. Game moves on in certain phases. Movement phase, combat phase, supply check phase and so on. Like in board games. Basically a turn goes on like this:
Movement phase: player moves his units, orders attacks, entrenchment, local/tactical reserves, air support etc. This is where all of your actions take place.
Combat phase: all attacks are resolved. Now, after combat is resolved you might get a message saying, for example, "40% of your turn remaining". The amount of turn remaining depends on how much time your attacks took. If you move a unit its full movement allowance and then conduct an attack with it, it will eat up your whole turn and when you hit 'resolve all combats' -button your turn ends after they are resolved. This is because it takes so long to move that distance and then to conduct that attack. So you should first conduct and resolve attacks with units that didn't move as it takes the shortest amount of time. Only then give units that moved attack orders. Thus you get the most out of the combat phase. I didn't realize this until couple of turns ago when I browsed through some TOAW guides.
After all combat is resolved it's enemy's turn.
Well, that explanation was a tad messy. Hope you got even a slight idea of the basic mechanics.
Thanks for the rundown.
I have a couple more questions:
I assume many enemy units are hidden, so, if you order a panzer rgt. to head along a road for the next town, a hidden enemy unit could pop up, and there would be unexpected combat (or an ambush). Is this so?
How would you rate the AI? Does it provide a high degree of challange?
This seems like a pretty good game. I used to play various board games, like Avalon Hill's Battle of the Bulge, but have little knowlage of computer strategy games. I do have WitP, however, it takes way too long to finish that one, and the AI seems weak.
I assume many enemy units are hidden, so, if you order a panzer rgt. to head along a road for the next town, a hidden enemy unit could pop up, and there would be unexpected combat (or an ambush). Is this so?
Yes, there is fog of war and what you see depends on your air reconnaissance capability and other various things. If you move your unit from A to C through B and there is an unseen enemy at B, your unit just stops in front of it. No combat, unless you order one.
How would you rate the AI? Does it provide a high degree of challange?
In my opinion it's reasonably good. At least I hope so, otherwise this complete failure reaches another level :). It's nothing like Command Ops Battles from the Bulge level, which has the best AI yet seen, but nothing to complain. I haven't played that much in the end so consider these as first impressions. Perhaps someone else more experienced can give more insight on this.
This seems like a pretty good game. I used to play various board games, like Avalon Hill's Battle of the Bulge, but have little knowlage of computer strategy games. I do have WitP, however, it takes way too long to finish that one, and the AI seems weak.
The Operational Art of War III is somewhat generic though. You don't get a certain feeling for certain battles and scenarios as they pretty much look like the same. But on the other hand it would be unreasonable to expect stronger thematic feel for each era and battle in a game which can model three hundred centuries of warfare. And which game can do that? None. Also the air and naval operations are quite abstracted so for example the Pacific campaigns don't feel very Pacific. Still, TOAW III is a great game and more you get into it, more you'll like it. It's also fairly cheap, around 40e (for a matrixgames' game anyway) now and if you wait for a few weeks for Matrixgames.com holiday sale it'll be on sale.
December 21st, 1944
6th SS Panzer Army sector
Monschau sector is mainly secured now. Allied forces were apparently redirected South towards Elsenborn where a fallschirmjäger regiment holding it was forced to retreat. The three SS divisions (1SS, 2SS and 9SS) advanced few kilometers. Allied 7th Armoured division came in through Vielsalm to reinforce the St. Vith front. It'll be hard neigh impossible to get through there in timely fashion. 116Pz division is cut off along with Peiper's panzer regiment.
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/22AMwithallied6PZarrows.jpg~original (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Schiavona/media/22AMwithallied6PZarrows.jpg.html)
5th Panzer Army sector
Allied combat command occupied Houffalize and cut off 2. Panzer division. Panzer Lehr dashed West but is too short on supplies to conduct any effective attack. Allied 3rd Armoured division appeared North of Gouvy and eliminated any chance of getting 2. Panzer division quickly back on supply. Recently arrived 15. Panzer Grenadier division will move to Bastogne sector rather than Gouvy.
Meanwhile Allied units are creating pressure in Hosingen where I lack troops. 26. Volksgrenadier is badly beating and ineffective as a fighting formation.
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/22AMwithallied5PZarrows.jpg~original (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Schiavona/media/22AMwithallied5PZarrows.jpg.html)
7th Army sector
Führer grenadier brigade forced the allied combat command to retreat and then moved South of Ettelbruck. They will eventually move West with 5. FallcshirmJäger.
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/22AMwithallied7Aarrows.jpg~original (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Schiavona/media/22AMwithallied7Aarrows.jpg.html)
Positions in the morning of 22nd
http://i903.photobucket.com/albums/ac231/Schiavona/22AMwithallied.jpg~original (http://s903.photobucket.com/user/Schiavona/media/22AMwithallied.jpg.html)
Offensive has been a complete failure. Bastogne should have been the target of the schwerpunkt. I should have concentrated forces there, pocketed Bastogne to not to give in to inevitable costly battle of it and drove West around it. Now I have only two divisions near Bastogne and most of my most effective fighting formations locked in and around St. Vith. Not to mention Patton who is knocking on the door already. Or the weather which is starting to clear...
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