COTA AAR: Gamble and Scramble

[Raptor1]

Day 7

As the last day of the operation begins, General Raptor steps out of the Division's HQ in Ellason. It takes a few minutes for the fact that something is wrong to register, and a further minute to realize that his boots aren't sinking into the ground with every step anymore. The mud has completely solidified, allowing unimpeded movements throughout the battlefield.



Seeing that the lack of mud will allow an unlikely final push by the Germans against Timavos, the Allies decide to take the initiative and strike at the thoroughly depleted Germans first. The plan is to build upon the minor thrust that the 1st British Armoured Brigade was commited to the first day into a major offensive against the Axis to the south.





The 17th Au. Inf. Bde will join the attack in the morning, with the 19th attacking from the west and south later in an effort to push the Germans into a killing zone along the river.



Minor skirmishes continue in the north, but most of the German strength there has already been crushed in the previous days.



17Bde is given attack orders at 0734.



19Bde is ordered to move 2 hours later.



Greek and Australian units mop up in the north.



The gap on the river begins to form as all 3 brigades move to attack.







The gap cloeses, at this point there are approximately 1,500 German troops trapped in the pocket.





The Germans attempt to extract their units and form a defensive line to the east.



The pocket is under heavy bombardment, with practically no cover for the Germans on the river, they are quickly annihilated. (Grey crosses mark destroyed or surrendered units)



As night falls, there are approximately 150 troops left inside the pocket, a 90% casualty rate.



The engagement continues for 2 more hours until the operation is concluded.

End of Battle

A clear and decisive Allied victory. With their vital supply routes taken, the Germans are forced to pull out and regroup, giving the Allies time to bring up reinforcements to fortify the mountain passes. Operation Barbarossa is fatally delayed as the Battle of Greece drags on for many months more.

Axis casualties in the battle amount to 40% of their original assigned force.

Picture of the final situation at the end of Day 7:

[eddie]

I enjoyed your AAR! I picked this sim up, and see that it has some great features in it. Now to learn how to use them,lol

[Raptor1]

Originally Posted by eddie

I enjoyed your AAR! I picked this sim up, and see that it has some great features in it. Now to learn how to use them,lol

You won't regret it, I believe

The game is actually easier to get into than most operational-level wargames (TOAW III comes to mind...), mostly because those require you to manually move dozens or hundreds of counters and memorize specific rules for every situation. This game works much more like real warfare than most of those sort of games...