|
Current discussion in chat: Dark blue line: Pre dawn organization Light blue arrows: Dawn attack
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 04:17
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 24, 2024 19:32 |
|
|
Please tell me that's a creeping artillery advance.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 04:38
|
|
|
xthetenth posted:Please tell me that's a creeping artillery advance. Of course. 99th Shoot any krauts we see until dawn. At 1030, other brigades will advance into St C. Artillery will support, firing on all enemy targets. At 1030, 99th infantry MG and commander will advance into St C. Artillery in the front line will remain in place. Artillery in the second line will move to the now empty trenches and unlimber. Infantry entering St C will hold in place and not advance past the city boundaries. Should any fresh German reinforcements be spotted at any point between receiving this order and 1030, the attack will be called off If 120th Brigade is seen retreating from Baguende, the 1030 attack will be called off. Only if enemy resistance evaporates in the outskirts of Saint Croissant, the city itself shall be assaulted en masse, en epee, avec un grand elan.  1030 Loel fucked around with this message at 15:43 on Mar 4, 2017 |
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 04:39
|
|
|
 55th's orders A runner arrives with news of Mon Pere's loss... General Sullat nods solemnly, and orders the runner to head to the quartermaster's stores with a request.  Move up to these positions in the night and switch to defend stance. Manhandle the arty. If we see the enemy while moving, switch to defend stance. Use rifle fire. Break off at 3/4th casualties. Once we arrive in place, dig in, and then fight to the death. I want 6 rifle companies in the gap between the arty and Baguette, and 2 rifle companies atop Pasteur ridge. The MG is to be between the arty and the southern infantry. Once entrenched, we will proceed to bombard any Germans with in range with impunity. At 1000, the General will announce that Mon Pere has been slain in a vile Hun ambush! Cutlasses will be distributed to the men. At 1030, the rifle companies will give their war cry, "You killed Mon Pere! Prepare to die!" We will then advance through Baguette, as shown:  We will fight to the death, we will engage the enemy with rifle fire. sullat fucked around with this message at 19:54 on Mar 4, 2017 |
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 05:45
|
|
|
Current chat discussion: What if we tried hitting them from East and West? They are full-on facing the southern front (presumably because of our departed commandante), and if we do a night march we could cross their T.  ^ Us being awesome
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 05:46
|
|
|
Night navigation is not easy.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 06:03
|
|
|
22ND DIVISION Do not issue orders to attack until I give the say-so. Do not make any attacks (That means you, BEF). Bacarruda fucked around with this message at 07:28 on Mar 4, 2017 |
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 06:09
|
|
|
 Slim Jim Pickens, Interrim Corps Commander Official Telegram Notice Attention, noble officers and enlisted men, currently engaged in valiant defense of St. Croissant and surroundings. I am with heavy heart and great sorrow, for we have heard reports that our dearly beloved Generale mon pere, is currently missing in action, having bravely and gallantly saved Quatreprouts from vile boche depravity, and gone on to lead the first charge into Saint Croissant itself! Heave, French hearts, our general's love for patrie bid him selflessly advance upon war-fevered Hun, guns, rifles, and shells be damned! Pray that he return to us, in spirit or in body, for France will not forget a hero of his calibre! In the interim, I will be taking over the role of emotional Corps Commander, so that we can all have somebody to blame if catastrophic failure finds us in the future. Soit brave!
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 06:52
|
|
|
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 06:57
|
|
|
6 Division, do not go on the offensive. We have taken a secondary objective, driven the Hun out of theirs, and unless we receive very clear and certain orders which I will protest vigorously, we are staying put. Our losses are too severe to take further action.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 07:43
|
|
|
 Slim Jim Pickens, Interrim Corps Commander General Corps Orders Gentlemen, an important update to the general situation has been made aware to me. Firstly, we are now fighting to defend France to the last man, and we may pay no heed to casualties incurred for the sake of La France. Secondly, a relief army has been dispatched from General Headquarters, and will arrive at 1300. As such, it would be unthinkable to blight their arrival with the sight of Teutons in the fair town of Saint Croissant. A general attack will be scheduled for 1030, wherein we shall assault with ranged fire the Eastern Flank of Saint Croissant with 4 brigades at once. The path of this attack will be through the Bois de Baguette, and through the clearing South of Baguette itself. Unfortunately, it seems mon pere took with him all the literate staff officers, we may only draft each brigade a new order once every 2 hours. By 1030, all relevant brigades should have received the order for attack, and their specific orders shall be explained at the opportunity to draft them comes. With respect to this unfortunate delay in command, all brigades with orders to attack at 1030 must be appended with this clause. "Should any fresh German reinforcements be spotted at any point between receiving this order and 1030, the attack will be called off". Likewise these orders shall also be appended "If 120th Brigade is seen retreating from Baguende, the 1030 attack will be called off." Additionally, all attacking brigades shall also be ordered forward with this clause: "Only if enemy resistance evaporates in the outskirts of Saint Croissant, the city itself shall be assaulted en masse, en epee, avec un grand elan." 6th Division Priority one: 55th Brigade In preparation for a final assault on St. Croissant, please ensure that your major artillery assets are ordered forwards and entrenched along the clearing between the Bois de Baguette and the unnamed Forest NE. Try to limit time spent being lost. Reports of appalling morale in 6th Division are making the Corps staff office concerned. Make plans to transfer divisional and corps assets to a reliable brigade command, or barring that, one traumatized and numbed to the horrors of war, after reaching intended position. This brigade will attack at 1030, through Baguette, and it's artillery assets should be attached to an unroutable brigade. Priority two: 53rd Brigade Attempt to take positions just East of the Bois de Baguette. This brigade will attack at 1030, through the Bois de Baguette 22nd Division No orders can be given this round. Non-binding courtesy notice: 99th Brigade and the BEF 2nd Brigade are slated to be involved in the 1030 attack. Slim Jim Pickens fucked around with this message at 12:52 on Mar 4, 2017 |
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 12:47
|
|
|
Edited my orders above, review for conformance with our last, greatest, attack plans.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 16:05
|
|
|
So uh... if we've both told the high command we've secured objectives, are we going to play out each side getting another corps of reinforcements? 
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 16:41
|
|
|
Slim Jim Pickens posted:
 Général de Division Bacarrette Sir, I wish to join General Tebeka in strenuously opposing these orders. Our men have been fighting extremely hard today. They are tired, worn out, and in need of food and ammunition. I have lost two brigades and have had a third nearly destroyed. The Germans are dug in and will have all night to put up wire and roadblocks to hinder any assault on their lines. With our communication problems, a multi-brigade attack with weak troops is extremely risky. It will be impossible to coordinate or respond to changing circumstances. It is extremely difficult to destroy enemy soldiers dug into trenches, especially when the Germans have so many of those infernal machine guns. The Lebel is a fine rifle, but it simply cannot match up to those damned Spandaus. Our men will be slaughtered in the open. If we must assault, let us wait for our relief and allow them to join the assault. I am a good soldier of France and I will do as commanded. But I must beg you, for the sake of our men, to reconsider this 1030 assault. Bacarruda fucked around with this message at 17:10 on Mar 4, 2017 |
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 17:06
|
|
|
Bacarruda posted:
I agree, the whole point of the maneuver is to force them to come to us or be destroyed by our artillery. With that in mind, an attack is not needed. They will need to reorient to attack us, or be destroyed piecemeal.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 17:20
|
|
|
Whats the range on their artillery? We could compromise, have our infantry stop just outside. I think we outrange them.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 17:27
|
|
|
I will remind the generals that we spotted an enemy runner well before ours was dispatched. I think if anything our men are not expendable and will indeed be needed to hold our gains between their reinforcements arriving and ours arriving. If it were a matter of us having full command and control and preparing the way for our reinforcements in the face of a battered enemy, I would support an attack wholeheartedly. However, neither is true. Their reinforcements will arrive first and our attack will be hard to organize to the point of excessive danger.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 17:27
|
|
|
It's my understanding that we aren't receiving reinforcements to end the battle at 1300, the battle is literally over at 1300. Thus, with our attack scheduled at 1030, we will only be attacking with a limited window for the boche the counter us. We expect to make contact at 1100, while our artillery begins bombardment at 1130. We have time to cancel the entire attack, so long as the conditionals I've sent you reach the brigade commanders. The boche runner reached St. Croissant some time near 2100. If their battle end timer is also 12 hours, the battle will be over at 0900, before our last attack begins. If they receive on-map reinforcements, we are still in a position to spot them, and that will also cancel the attack, if the brigadiers get those conditional orders. Loel posted:Whats the range on their artillery? We could compromise, have our infantry stop just outside. I think we outrange them. Bacarruda posted:With our communication problems, a multi-brigade attack with weak troops is extremely risky. It will be impossible to coordinate or respond to changing circumstances. sullat posted:I agree, the whole point of the maneuver is to force them to come to us or be destroyed by our artillery. With that in mind, an attack is not needed. They will need to reorient to attack us, or be destroyed piecemeal. We eliminate our communication problems by ordering this attack at a predeterminate time, as well as unified conditional orders for its cancellation. The goal of our attack is to make contact with the Germans and force them to reveal their MG and artillery positions. With our overwhelming advantage in artillery, these positions will be silenced immediately. However, we cannot see their exact positions until they open fire, which means that we must use our infantry to reveal them. By approaching the German line in enfilade, we will also limit the possible damage of their initial fire. The Germans will not be able to use their heavy weapons all at once, but we will be. Our attack can be spoiled if our attacking soldiers rout or retreat, before our guns can acquire their targets. Thus, we must attack with a strong infantry force and present far too many targets for the boche to silence. Our goal is to advance into rifle range on the East Flank, and immediately stop at first contact. The boche will only have 3-4 MGs available to shoot back. So long as our infantry force survives the first contact, all those MGs will be shelled to bits. This is why we need to order all involved brigades to attack at once.  We have a lot of time to maneuver our brigades, and get them into a strong position for attack or defense. sullat posted:Edited my orders above, review for conformance with our last, greatest, attack plans. Your positions are too far north. You should aim to have some of your artillery shooting through the gap between Baguette and Bois de Baguette, and only go as far North as you need to.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 19:31
|
|
|
Looks good to me. Edit: if we're flanking at 1030, would it make sense for my infantry to advance at 1100 or 1130, to smash them as they reorient to face east. As is, Im marching into guns that are aiming at me en masse. Loel fucked around with this message at 20:05 on Mar 4, 2017 |
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 19:43
|
|
|
The adjudication begins...
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 20:29
|
|
|
Your brigade orders don't include any of the conditional orders necessary to cancel the attack if circumstances change.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 21:13
|
|
|
Turn 38: 0130 French initiative 55th Brigade attempts to change its orders, and fails. The night is quiet. Turn 39: 0200 French initiative The battle will end in 24 turns No news, other than that everyone who is currently digging has either finished their trenches, or will do very soon. Turn 40: 0230 French initiative The battle will end in 23 turns No news. Turn 41: 0300 German initiative The battle will end in 22 turns No news. Turn 42: 0330 German initiative The battle will end in 21 turns 55th Division finally gets on the move.  Turn 43: 0400 French initiative The battle will end in 20 turns The gun line gropes its way up onto Pasteur Ridge.  Turn 44: 0430 French initiative The battle will end in 19 turns The gun line settles down into something resembling its assigned position. The infantry peers into the trenches atop Pasteur, and find at least the first inch or so of them to be empty.  Turn 45: 0500 The battle will end in 18 turns The night is quiet once more. The next soft deadline is TOMORROW, 5th March, at 7pm GMT.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 22:14
|
|
|
Quiet ... too quiet ...
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 22:18
|
|
|
I'm definitely not using being way off in Faibleimpot as an excuse when I'm actually absolutely wiped out from the past week, no siree.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 22:27
|
|
|
I guess, continue as planned and hit at 1030. Any other units need orders?
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 22:29
|
|
|
Not bad news, really. The Germans are hunkering down. It seems our order delay is even worse than I thought. The 1030 attack is hereby cancelled. Next corps orders are simple. 6th Division Order your brigades abandon all attack plans. 22nd Division Continue resisting against the urge to attack. Slim Jim Pickens fucked around with this message at 22:51 on Mar 4, 2017 |
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 22:44
|
|
|
99th Continue to chill in trenches
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 22:49
|
|
|
Loel posted:99th Out of everybody here, your guys probably had the nicest day. No medals for calm service though.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 22:52
|
|
|
Slim Jim Pickens posted:Out of everybody here, your guys probably had the nicest day. We'd rather be lucky and alive than heroes and dead
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 22:53
|
|
|
Special Update, By Agreement Of Both Sides Turn 51: 0800 German initiative The German end-of-battle timer runs out on this turn. This is the final position of each side's forces.  You began the battle with 210 companies and added 46 for a total of 256 companies. You had 106 remaining on Turn 51, losing 150 casualties. The enemy began with 195 companies and added 52 for a total of 247 companies. They had 79 remaining on Turn 51, losing 168 casualties. Very shortly thereafter, two entire reinforcement German corps arrive and the forces they've committed to the battle so far are withdrawn. They are slightly annoyed to find the French cavalry in Faibleimpot and are forced to proceed cautiously. You conduct a valiant defence, and mere moments before being pushed off the map completely, your own reinforcements arrive at 1300 and redress the balance. The force of the German assault is considerably blunted. Both sides' commanders quickly conclude that this battle is unlikely to result in a decisive victory and the fighting flows off the map, heading inexorably North as part of what will become known as the incredibly-inaccurately-named Race to the Sea. Another battle will be fought here in 1915 along the following approximate trench line.  General Lyautey assesses your performance after the battle as follows: 1). Although you prevented the Germans from advancing much further, you failed to drive them out of St Croissant, your primary objective. 2). You succeeded in occupying Faibleimpot. Although this was with a small force and after the Germans occupied Quatreprouts, it still forced the enemy to use his reinforcements cautiously, and made it possible for our reinforcements to reverse the situation after your work was done. 3). You failed to liberate as much of the occupied national territory as you might. However, this was a reasonable course of action, considering the circumstances. 4). You preserved your forces reasonably well; it seems that high casualties are unavoidable during this war, and for the most part you did not spend men unwisely. (He refuses to elaborate, not wishing to speak ill of the dead.) You also inflicted more casualties than you sustained. He considers the result of the battle to be a minor French defeat, but also considers that it would have been very difficult to achieve any better result, and tells you warmly not to lose too much heart. We'll get them yet, he says. He also decorates General xthetenth with the Croix de Guerre, for obvious reasons, and tells him that if he carries on like this he'll either end up dead in a ditch or a Marshal of France - or possibly both. 100 years later, the encounter at St Croissant is not a very well-studied battle among historians. Those who do take notice of it either rate it as a minor French defeat or as a stalemate, according to their preferences and biases. The battle killed or wounded some 30,000 French soldiers and 33,600 German soldiers, a total of 63,600 casualties. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIIOGka3LKI Trin Tragula fucked around with this message at 23:50 on Mar 4, 2017 |
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 23:33
|
|
|
The observer thread is now open to all players.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2017 23:38
|
|
|
wow is that a weight off my mind
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2017 01:54
|
|
|
i mean losing is bad and all but holy poo poo it could have gone so much worse.
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2017 02:03
|
|
|
The French historian Francois Tallus considered the battle to be a strategic French victory; after all it stopped the Germans from the march into the interior, and pushed them into the race to the sea; a race they eventually lost. In addition, the lessons learned in the battle were used in many victories to come; by the end of the war, Field Marshal and Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary force, Xthetenth was applying the lessons of St Croissants all across the western front.
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2017 02:21
|
|
|
sullat posted:The French historian Francois Tallus considered the battle to be a strategic French victory; after all it stopped the Germans from the march into the interior, and pushed them into the race to the sea; a race they eventually lost. In addition, the lessons learned in the battle were used in many victories to come; by the end of the war, Field Marshal and Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary force, Xthetenth was applying the lessons of St Croissants all across the western front. gently caress! Don't throw me in like that! (Actually it might be a fun thing for me to try my hand at a higher level command and I've got a sneaking suspicion that Trin will eagerly take the offer just to be rid of my orders). thatbastardken posted:i mean losing is bad and all but holy poo poo it could have gone so much worse. Comedy perspective: I think that we did a really good job executing given the setup and our understanding of the orders, probably a better job than the Germans.
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2017 02:46
|
|
|
xthetenth posted:gently caress! Don't throw me in like that! (Actually it might be a fun thing for me to try my hand at a higher level command and I've got a sneaking suspicion that Trin will eagerly take the offer just to be rid of my orders). Congrats, you are now the Corps Commander for 1915
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2017 03:10
|
|
|
 On behalf of a grateful nation and her grateful allies, I wish to present these awards to Général de brigade Dixième for his gallant service in this battle. Général de brigade Dixième lead the 6th Cavalry Brigade in the Battle of Saint Croissaint with extreme dash, skill, and elan. As the vanguard of the 22nd Division, he was the first to reach the outskirts of Saint Crossaint, only to find this sacred French soil in German hands. With his men beaten back by the fire, the General rallied and garrisoned his men in a nearby farm. Thanks to his guidance, his horse artillery devastated advancing enemy forces, buying 22nd Division vital time to reorganized in the face of this stiff resistance. With enemy forces about to overrun him, the General executed a flawless withdrawal under intense fire -- galloping his men towards the vital peak of Le Oeuf. Taking the peak, he could see two German brigades advancing towards him. Ignoring the long odds, The General steeled his men and poured yet more fire into the Germans, killing hundred of German Jaegers with point-blank artillery blasts. Yet it was too much. German forces drove him and his men off the ridge and seized his guns. Undaunted, the General rallied his men yet again. Before him on Le Oeuf was an entire German brigade supported by nearly a hundred piece of artillery. Seizing the initiative, he rallied the surviving men of his brigade. Looking around, he could see he only had two companies left. And still he charged. Storming up the ridge, he caught the Germans completely by surprise. Sabre in hand, Général de brigade Dixième personally killed several dozen German soldiers when he overran an German artillery battery. And still he charged. Racing down the German gunline, the General proceeded to destroy 5 more German artillery batteries. Sabre'ing the gunners there, he took nearly a hundred German artillery guns and their horses. And still he charged. Moving down the hill, the General assaulted two more German field guns killing and capturing their crews. Behind him, the 2nd Brigade of the BEF followed his charge as the 1st Battalion of the Lancashire clearing the stunned German survivors off the Dejeunner Ridge. And still he charged. Now at the summit, the General had the pleasure to retake his lost field guns, ensuring not a single one fell into enemy hands. General de brigade Dixième's assault at a critical moment turned the tide of the battle for the Allied forces. By destroying the German's field guns moments before they were ready to fire, he saved the 2nd Brigade of the BEF from certain annihilation. His charge allowed allied forces retake high ground and blunt the German's nearly-successful attempt to flank the 22nd Division. For his heroism, he has been dubbed a Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur. Great Britain has awarded him the Victoria Cross, the first ever awarded to a Frenchman. Every man in the 6th Cavalry Brigade has been award the Crois de Guerre in honor of their exceptional service and self-sacrifice.
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2017 09:06
|
|
|
gg no re
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2017 09:34
|
|
|
gg no re (Also that was one hell of a cavalry charge - I was so impressed I couldn't even get mad)
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2017 16:02
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 24, 2024 19:32 |
|
|
Crazycryodude posted:gg no re From the highest performing chit in the game to quite possibly the highest performing single player in the game, thanks!
|
|
#
?
Mar 5, 2017 21:03
|
|