This is an AAR from a game of "A Civil War, Not A Gentlemen's War" PBP-11, between myself, Jim Torkelson and Carl Noguiera. [As always, this is from memory, and I hope I have not butchered it too badly. Try to hit the high or low points, as it were] I was the attacker, the British of the International Brigade on the Republican side, and Carl was the defender, of Seville Blue(?)shirts on the Nationalist side. The attacker used the russian counterset, and the defender used the axis minors. The defender outnumbered the attacker in infantry (10 squads to 8), but the attacker had six(!) russian made tanks, T26M33s, with inexperienced crews and RST turrets. The defender also had roadblocks and fortified buildings.
There were a number of SSRs. The attacker could not used armored assault. The topmost building locations of U4 and V3 were steeples. Another two hex wooden building was on board as well. All of the woods hexes are actually olive groves (LOS obstacle, +1 tem, movement cost still 2 MP for infantry, only 2 MF for tanks, but no bog check for tanks). MMGs and ATRs needed to be used by crews or face ROF and B# penalties.
The VC called for the attacker to grab 18 building locations. That is a lot to grab in the face of superior infantry numbers, so I have to kill squads with my tanks. The right side of the board 24 has the multi-level stone buildings, so an attack there can achieve my VCs.
The defenders set up on good ol' board 24. The attackers set up on the hills of board 11. Basically, no decisive point to cover the map for the attacker, and the steeples on the defender's rear had a moderate command of the attacker's left. No defender set up forward, and some concealed units were occupying each steeple location (probably MGs and ATR).
My plan as the attacker was to have my main effort up the olive groves on my right and break into the multi-location stone and wooden buildings there where the tanks can have free rein to support. In this region, the steeples have very obstructed LOS. Two of my six tanks and two squads plus the MMG were going to go up the middle to prevent defender lateral movement and try to pick up two or more building locations.
My tanks were a collection of junk. Lousy transmissions. Radioless, they use platoon movement. They each used the counter- given MGs, so two had CMG & RMG, two only had CMG, and two had no MGs at all! They have RST and inexperienced crews, so each MA attack has a +2 to hit from the start, before including building TEM. Great, just great. The defender has a 20L ATR with a ROF of two and a base TK of 6. His LMGs and MMG can also try to knock out my tanks. With an armor of 1, all are serious threat to my tanks, but then my tanks are expendable. Think of them as crags with treads that go bang! I have to expect my mobility to be challenged with the roadblocks.
R T1: Charge! Tanks enter in the center BU, and run forward without changing elevation. Take some fire from the ATR in the steeple, no effect. Infantry on both flanks move forward, no shots fired.
N T1: ATR preps and promptly malfunctions... No other shots. Some shifting of defender to cover my moves, particularly a couple squads up front on my left.
R T2: Two tanks move onto the spit of hill around P9/P8. One of my squads approaches the building at O10. Two tanks move to T7 and bypass of S8. The last two move to R7 and R6. Commissar and two squads assault move into T7, get broken by fire from 347s. Another squad assault moves concealed to U7. Defensive fire does nothing to him. Advancing fire from tanks repeatedly breaks, CRs then kills 347 in S7! Rout my broken guys with the commissar back to U7. My concealed squad in U7 advances into CC in U6. I ambush the defender, and kill him outright, remaining concealed.
N T2: Attempt to repair ATR, it breaks. Gets thrown out the window. He fires his MMG at my tank at P8, hit, needs a three to kill it. Snakes! Dead, no crew survival. Ouch! He moves up to put the DM back on my commissar. His crew moves down from the steeple along the path through the olives. Flanking me on my right and reinforcing the building at T6. Break my MMG in DefF.
R T3: I need to kill some enemy squads to open up some space. The two tanks on the R hexrow fire, no effect. The tank in T7 fires and pins the 347 in T6. The 9-1 and squad assault move to R7. Squad breaks due to fire from 347, but 9-1 leader goes heroic! Assault move concealed squad from U6 to V7, threaten CC. NAM reserve squad into hex with 227 crew in W6 to strip concealment. Defensive fire breaks and ELRs him down to conscript. Assault move concealed and revealed 447s into N9 and O9, trying for the overlay building in N8. [Have to rout the DM commissar back, losing time here!] Advance them into CC with revealed 347. No ambush. Melee. Everybody lives. We laugh at the heroic 9-1 leader, saying what is he going to do, kill that opposing 347 squad? Well sure enough, I advance him into T6, he ambushes the 347, and on the 1:3 -2 CC, kills them dead. Advance into W6, no ambush, melee.
N T3: Carl preps into the melee in N8. 16+2. Everybody breaks! As we see it, both sides would withdraw from melee, but he can advance people in to CC my withdrawing broken guys. So, to show that he is not the only one to fire at his own troops, I fire the MMG and a tank into the melee as well. My hope is to kill his broken 347, to give my broken 447s the opportunity to rout. Partially successful, I manage to CR his 347. He advances in there with two squads, and kills both of mine. Ack.
R T4: Desperation time here. The commissar rallies, and he brings all three squads with him! One tank preps, draws a sniper who breaks one of the squads that just rallied! Try some aggressive moves with my tanks, moving into bypass of 347 in U6. Another tank passes the non-platoon movement TC with his 6 morale level, moves up to R6, stops at roadblock. Try moving infantry into the street, get broken. His defensive fire from the MMG kills another tank! I have two good order squads. Advance into CC in U6 again. Melee. The end. Resign.
This is a fun scenario. The attacker has it very tough, being outnumbered the way he is. The tanks did better than I though they would! They have to go up close to do anything. I think if I played it again, I would use roughly the same ideas for the infantry, but have a platoon of tanks in the olive grove around V5. It is not bog terrain, and axis minors need to take 1PAATCs to go into CC. My infantry should go one more turn in the olives past U6 towards V3. The open ground at T7 was deadly. The tanks can overrun outposts in the olives, and then the infantry can move up. I still do not know if 18 building locations is reasonable for the attacker to grab. There are 6 in S8/S7/T6/U6, 6 in U4/V3, and another 6 in R4/R5/S5. If my commissar had not broken early and stayed broken, it could have happened.
The nationalist fortications were minimal effect the way I ran my tanks. If I had tried to encircle building S7/T6, the roadblock would have stopped me. The other roadblocks were on the peripheral road on N4 and way in the rear. Inconsequential to this battle. Apparently there were fortified locations that we forgot about. Oops. The 20L ATR was a disappointment, but then I intentionally moved to minimize it.
This was fun! Any time multiple people get together for ASL, the fun quotient rises significantly...