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The crucial importance of Hill 107 for that fight is outstanding. Losing the heights meant that any attempts to go through the clearing between the hill and the airfield would be met with a wall of fire.
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Jan 26, 2024 14:58
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Yup - very historical. The Kiwis lost the hill first (A withdrawal rather than to a German assault), and seeing that, the troops on the airfield also withdrew.
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Jan 26, 2024 16:43
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Game Turn 14: 1700, 21st of May After almost two days of fighting, the shots near the Maleme airfield finally dies down. Many of the captured Maoris are under armed guard near the airfield, where the last counter-attack by 5th NZ Brigade almost pushed off the LLSR from their objective. The men of the Luftlander Sturm Regiment can finally catch a breather. Right on schedule, the 5th Gebirs Division, commanded by General Ringel, arrives at the airfield. First out of the transports is Gebirs Jager Regiment 100, commanded by Oberst Utz. The only Allied fire incoming is from the two stranded Matildas: somehow, one of them manages to catch the tail of a landing Ju-52, but the damage is minimal.  5th Brigade keeps pulling back, needing to deal with the paratroopers to their rear while forming a more defensive line. Their artillery park is disbanded and the artillery is limbered to trucks for the forthcoming move. One last volley is fired at the massed infantry on the airfield, but apart from making some Germans duck, it does not do much.  4th and the remnants of 10th Brigade move towards Maleme: both to rescue their comrades in 5th Brigade and also see if it is possible for them to push and retake the airfield. What remains of 3FJR is subjected to more mortar fire: there's scant few paratroopers left to be able to defend the small guns, as the paratroopers that did that daring charge against the 10th Brigade are finally dispersed.  MNDBO forces start replacing the 4th NZ Brigade forces on the Prison Valley pocket, while the 19th Australian Brigade continues the march that they have been doing all day, heading towards Maleme now and hoping to save their Kiwi comrades.  Over in Rethymnon, the day-long fire takes its toll, and the final remnants of several 1FJR companies are finally rounded up by the Australian forces. The only major threat remaining are to the east, since few Germany infantry remains to the west.  Heraklion is relatively quiet, with Light Mortars finally taking out one of the enemy companies that was hunkered down in the city proper. The noose around 3 FJR also continues to tighten.  Finally approaching the enemy, the lead elements of the 19th Aus Brigade column start to form into combat formation.  The rest of 19th Brigade in the Rethymnon sector repositions, straightening both the east and west to clear the remaining paratroopers in the area.  A Greek sniper catches Oberst Brauer, of 1 FJR, in the open, and does not miss, one of the many German officers killed during the last few days of combat. Tekopo fucked around with this message at 17:47 on Jan 26, 2024 |
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Jan 26, 2024 17:45
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Game Turn 15: 1900, 21st May New reinforcements from Kampfgruppe Ramcke arrive east of the airfield, making a successful parachute landing. The Pioneers and the rest of Kg Ramcke block the road from Maleme to Canea, while the rest of the LLSR gives chase to the remnants of 5th Brigade. Night is falling fast and the Kiwis do have some fallback entrenchments as well. B Company, 22nd Battalion, which is still out of position, is spotted by the observation post on top of Hill 107 and shelled, slowing it down and causing light casualties on the retreating company. The rest of 7th Flieger Division, or at least what is left in Prison Valley and the Rethymnon/Heraklion sectors, is quiet for now.  B Company is not fast enough, and the scratch paratrooper company, composed of glider-troopers and various other company-less Fallschirmjager, catches up with them while they are still in column formation. The entire company is assaulted and is quickly forced to surrender. The rest of the Regiment gives chase, moving up their guns and support weapons as well. Partisans try to harass the LLSR artillery assets, but are driven off easily by the disciplined paratroopers.  5th Brigade forms a defensive line while 4th Brigade fully disengages from the Prison Valley engagement and heads west. Unfortunately, one of the Greek infantry units seems to get lost during the march, and ends the rest of the battle dispersed in the hills. (Random Event: Greek Rout)  More GJR 100 troops land on the strip, and the ones that landed earlier head south: they don't have any heavy equipment yet, but considering the lack of infantry that the LLSR, the sight of the Mountain troops is welcome.  Night finally descends. The fighting of the second has proved decisive for the Germans, and with more and more infantry coming in to the only airfield that they have managed to secure, the capture of Crete is within their grasp. The 5th New Zealand Brigade has suffered extremely heavy casualties, and are now caught between the vice of the newly-reinforced Germans: they will have to fight to get out of this predicament. Tekopo fucked around with this message at 13:17 on Jan 31, 2024 |
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Jan 26, 2024 19:47
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I think I will take a bit of a pause now, at least for the weekend: I've been enjoying the game a lot, which is why I'm doing several turns a day, but don't want to burn out quite yet. In terms of progress, we are about 20% through: there are 10 days of fighting in total, with the last day being the 29th of May. Hope is not completely lost for the Commonwealth, but the situation is rather grim. I think I will post a small strategy post in the next few days, or at least the strategy of the game as I see it (considering I'm still a newbie to the system itself). Also, if you have any comments, suggestions or critiques of the game so far, let me know!
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Jan 26, 2024 20:03
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Having a fun time watching!
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Jan 27, 2024 05:42
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Strategy Post This should be called "Strategy as I see it" because I don't have years of experience with the system, but oh well. This post will explain my thought process and decisions in terms of how I have used the forces of both sides, however. First of all, let's see some archetypical units from both sides (and two artillery pieces that I will talk about the significance of in a bit).  The stats of units in this game have quite an effect in terms of how you want to use them and how to engage them within the game. The main match up in the game so far has been between the D 23 Bn and the 5./II./LLSR counters above. At first glance, the numbers don't seem that dissimilar, but they have huge implications. First of all, the Fire Rating and Assault Rating. The purple fire rating is the one for Light Mortars, and pink values are Small Arms. Light Mortars can be fired during Divisional Activation for no cost of a CP, but in general they do less damage even on a hit than small arms. Let's bring back up the combat chart:  The section we are looking at is on the right (unarmoured targets), comparing Light Mortars and Small Arms. A reminder: this CRT is roll under or equal, with higher rolls being better, hence making higher Fire Rating more devastating. As can be seen, Light Mortars, in comparison to Small Arms, are overall slightly worse, with one more "S?" result at lower Fire Ratings. Firing against the German fallschirmjager, you will likely be firing at -2, one for their natural defence of -1, and another for them being in an orchard/other terrain. This can be offset by passing your Company Check (which gives a +2), but with TQ of 5 you only roll that 60% of the time, barring any penalties from barrage/cohesion hits/etc. So, most of the times, the Light Mortars will cause "S?" results, with the occassional "C" result when you hit a 0. The Germans, with their Troop Quality of 7, can usually shrug off the "S?" without any effect, without needing to spend a CP to do it, if they don't want. The summary of all the math above is that most of the time, Light Mortars won't do anything, but eventually they will chip away at the Germans. The paratrooper Small Arms, on the other hand, require some expenditure (either DPs or CPs) to actually fire, but are slightly more deadly. Added to that, the paratroopers are also more likely to pass their Company Check, meaning that their rating will more than likely be 7 rather than 5. So fewer activations since they don't get to fire "for free", but much more deadly when they do. The differences are more striking in an assault. The Kiwis get to fire their assault rating of 5 twice, while the Germans get one shot at 5 and one at 6. More telling is the Troop Quality, though. In order to even perform an Assault, you need to pass a Bravery Check, and as mentioned before, the formula for this is Troop Quality + Enemy Defence (including modifiers) - your defence. So let's have a situation in which I want to charge the paratroopers against the the Kiwis in a clear hex. My roll for Bravery would be 7 + 0 - (-1), so I do a roll-equal-or-under of 8. That is a high as it can ever be, because 9 is always a fail on a roll no matter what. If we reverse the situation, the calculation is 5 + (-1) - 0. I need to roll a 4 or under. That's a 50% chance of falling to charge and losing that action. And even if I can make that charge, the odds in a stand-up fight are against me, and assaults also allow the defenders to fire back before you get to hurt them. And if you try to Charge the Germans, their high TQ means that they are more likely to stand up to the charge instead of surrendering. Against that proposition, just doing a standard attack instead of an assault becomes much more enticing. The math against the GJR Germans are a little bit better, but still not great overall. But you aren't going to just have a straight slugging match, right? Infantry are important for taking and holding terrain, but the real difference-maker in this game is artillery. If you look at Artillery (of all kinds) and mortars in the chart above, you can see that they do a lot more damage at the lower dice rolls. As well as that, they place barrage markers (as long as you don't roll a 9), which automatically make your opponents worse in terms of fire/assault/troop quality ratings. They also have a tipping point, in that an unmodified Fire Rating of 6 or more places a Heavy Barrage, which is even more effective. The only two units that can achieve that in the game are the German Heavy Mortar Company, and a single Organic Artillery unit in Heraklion. They have a fire rating of 4, but with a troop quality check, they can get to 6 and place those heavy barrage markers down. So in order to do a successful attack, ideally you want to have the target suppressed, for them to have a heavy/light barrage, and potentially some cohesion hits as well. This can crater their Fire/Assault ratings by -5, and lowers their TQ by -2/-3. It's at that point when you usually want to Assault, although with the Commonwealth troops you'll still usually face an unfavourable Bravery check just to get in. In essence, you want to pound an enemy with as much artillery as possible, then assault. The Germans are much better at this two-step approach, due to their combined Troop Quality and low defence rating. The Commonwealth is less effective, so ideally you just want to surround the Germans and just keep plinking away until enough Cohesion Hits build up to start forcing step losses on the Germans. The tactics in Operation Mercury are kind of constrained by the troops that are present, however. Other GTS games feature tanks much more prominantly, and they have a real effect on how infantry have to interact/engage with them: small arms are kind of bad, and even with elite troops, charging something with -2/-3 defence is very difficult.
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Jan 27, 2024 11:57
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Game Turn 16: Night, 21st May As night sets, the fighting dies down for the day, with mixed fortunes on both sides. 3FJR has no chance of being rescued, but the 5th NZ Brigade will face a similar fate if they aren't able to push through the German paratroopers and pioneers blocking their path. Heraklion and Rethymnon are already lost causes for the Germans troops, and there is no possibility of rescue there, no matter how remote. The 19th Australian near Maleme moves up in preparation of an attack in the morning, while the Rethymnon and Heraklion sector don't do much apart from keeping up their harassing fire against the Germans, although to little effect.  The LLSR moves up, readying up for the attack that's sure to start the following morning. KG Ramcke and the Pioneers dig up defensive positions: as a blocking force, their objective is to just hold the Allies as much as possible. The rest of the 7th Flieger Division rallies and regroups while they still can.  The 5th Gebirgs Division keeps moving towards the south, leaving the area of the coast to the LLSR and trying to flank the 5th Brigade to the south and fully encircle the Kiwis.  Dawn approaches, with another day of hard fighting likely to occur.
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Jan 28, 2024 16:26
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So realistically is this about the most soldiers the Germans will have unless they take more airfields?
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Jan 28, 2024 23:29
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When a unit "surrenders," is that just narrative fluff or a specific type of defeat? And can surrendered/captured units be freed to fight again?
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Jan 28, 2024 23:56
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wedgekree posted:So realistically is this about the most soldiers the Germans will have unless they take more airfields? There's a set schedule as well:  You land the reinforcements in serials that you have to follow:  (up to 17 serials in total) PurpleXVI posted:When a unit "surrenders," is that just narrative fluff or a specific type of defeat? And can surrendered/captured units be freed to fight again? Tekopo fucked around with this message at 00:38 on Jan 29, 2024 |
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Jan 29, 2024 00:31
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Game Turn 17: 0700, 22nd May Dawn once again starts the fighting, and the Luftwaffe arrives in mass, targeting the support weapons and tanks of 5th Brigade. The air strikes, however, have little effect apart from making one mortar crew run for their trenches.  Even through the air strikes, 2nd NZ Division prepares for the coming storm, setting up positions for 5th Brigade and 4th Brigade moving to the south to push the Pioneers away and open up a path for the Kiwis to escape.  The Rethymnon sector finally becomes active as the Germans make some small localised attacks. D Company of the 2/1 Infantry Brigade is especially hard hit, and takes many casualties from the storm of lead from the Germans. Otherwise, the situation within the sector remains relatively stationary.  The LLSR sets up, ready for an attack which they know will come soon. The Regiment has more support guns than infantry, but with the back-up of the 5th Gebirgs Division, they feel secure now. The 5th NZ Brigade shells the positions held by KG Ramcke and the Pioneers, but to little effect. The rest of the men keep digging in, preparing for the eventual assault.  Near Heraklion, the fighting continues, and the 1FJR paratroopers keep losing men on the east-most side of the battle, but apart from that, the situation changes little. The 4th Brigade is finally in position to make contact with the Pioneers, and the attack begins in earnest. The mortars take their toll, and already the pioneers are sustaining casualties, even in their entrenched positions. The 19th Australian also sets up in position to attack quickly in the coming hours. The MNDBO keeps up their fire against the 3FJR, targeting mostly their support weapons, which take light casualties.  GJR 100 keeps trying to encircle south, but the presence of a hill slows down their movements, although it is clear that they will be able to get into position soon to threaten 5th Brigade, while attempting to save the Pioneers as well.  The LLSR finally attacks, targeting the vulnerable support weapons of the Allies, and taking out two mortar teams, although the rest of their barrage is not very effective, apart from the pioneers giving the men of D Company, 20th Battalion, 4th Brigade a bloody nose.  Early morning reinforcements arrive for the Germans, with the Gebirgs Jager Regiment 85 finally making it to the scene. Meanwhile, GJR 100 keeps moving to encircle south.  1FJR in Heraklion keeps pushing into the city, managing to sweep aside the Greek defenders, trying desperatly to take hold of the docks. The going is slow, however, and on the east side, the situation is dire, with only 3 companies still combat-worthy.  The 19th Australian Brigade finally mounts an attack, their first offensive action since the battle started, after a long 2 day march up from Georgeoupolis. The pioneers once again face the brunt of it, with many casualties sustained. In Rethymnon, the rest of the Brigade keeps pushing the remaining Germans hard. 
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Jan 29, 2024 10:36
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Tekopo posted:But you aren't going to just have a straight slugging match, right? Infantry are important for taking and holding terrain, but the real difference-maker in this game is artillery. If you look at Artillery (of all kinds) and mortars in the chart above, you can see that they do a lot more damage at the lower dice rolls. As well as that, they place barrage markers (as long as you don't roll a 9), which automatically make your opponents worse in terms of fire/assault/troop quality ratings. They also have a tipping point, in that an unmodified Fire Rating of 6 or more places a Heavy Barrage, which is even more effective. The only two units that can achieve that in the game are the German Heavy Mortar Company, and a single Organic Artillery unit in Heraklion. They have a fire rating of 4, but with a troop quality check, they can get to 6 and place those heavy barrage markers down. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ-k2pmLPcc FF posted this video in the other thread, which is supposed to be a comparison of Battalion Combat System (no idea what this is) against the Grand Tactical Series (your game!) and at 21 minutes he does make mention that "GTS artillery is possibly the dominant weapon system", so I appreciate how you were able to actually break down how important that is.
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Jan 29, 2024 11:17
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Does taking the harbor result in more reinforcements for the Germans or is it just one of the things they need to do to actually win?
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Jan 29, 2024 11:52
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PurpleXVI posted:Does taking the harbor result in more reinforcements for the Germans or is it just one of the things they need to do to actually win?
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Jan 29, 2024 11:59
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gradenko_2000 posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ-k2pmLPcc BCS artillery is very abstracted out by comparison, yeah. BCS is a more operationally aligned system, really geared toward big tank battles, for reference to the scale, its first game contained the whole battle of the bulge, whereas the GTS game set in that battle just covers the approach to Bastogne.
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Jan 29, 2024 13:40
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I liked BCS the one time I tried it but yeah, the scale difference is notable. The whole of the 5th Brigade in BCS would be 4-5 counters.
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Jan 29, 2024 13:42
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Game Turn 18: 0900, 22nd May The 3 FJR, even with mounting losses and fully encircled, shows that it can still bite back, with many casualties sustained by the mixed MNDBO forces as they attempt to remove the last few pockets of resistance, with the Australians and Hussars especially hit hard. Fire by CREFOR resounds throughout both the battle near Rethymnon, Heraklion and Modion, in between Canea and Maleme, with light casualties sustained by the Germans on all three sectors. Fire is returned by the Germans near to Modion, taking out the last 5th Brigade Mortar detachment. The 5th Gebirgs Division keeps moving to encircle the Commonwealth troops, but 4 companies seem to march towards the West rather than East.  With news that there are Germans coming their way, some of the Greeks start routing in Kastelli, and Major Bedding is unable to keep them at their post.  You haven't seen this sector in a long time, eh? 4th Brigade keeps pushing up, sending volleys of mortar fire sailing towards the Pioneers: the MG Pioneer company finally breaks due to the pressure of the attack: the Aussies and Kiwis are that much closer to saving their comrades. 10th Brigade and 5th Brigade join in, also firing what weapons they have, although casualties are minimal.  Heavy fire from the LLSR is the prelude for another assault on the Kiwis, and the thin line is starting to disintegrate under the pressure. The race is on between the 5th Brigade holding out and the Pioneers and KG Ramcke keeping steady. 
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Jan 29, 2024 17:43
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Game Turn 19: 1100, 22nd May The GJR 100 finally joins the battle, and is quick to capitalise on the distracted Allies. The troops in Modion itself from 5th Brigade are under heavy fire, while an entire Company from 4th Brigade is forced to scatter as devastating fire is poured on it from 8th Company GJR 100. The heavy mortars of the LLSR also fire, suppressing the 5th Brigade Maori D Company.  5th NZ Brigade won't give up without a fight, however, and accurate direct HE fire devastates one of the newly arrived 5th Gebirgs Division companies. The Pioneer line is also crumbling due to the fire of the whippet tanks.  CREFORCE in Heraklion and Rethymnon is also getting some results, with casualties amongst 1 and 2 FJR: the west of Rethymnon especially is likely to be cleared soon, as all infantry companies have been dealt with. The pioneers also fare poorly, and the light mortars of the 19th Brigade manage to make another company of them scatter.  Artillery and an assault by the 3rd Company LLSR, however, manages to force the Maoris of B Company to surrender. Once the LLSR meets the entrenchments, the attack is likely to slow down, but will there be anything left of 5th by that stage?  19th Australian opens up once more, and more Pioneers are forced to surrender by the weight of fire. Over by Rethymnon, resistance on the east is starting to crumple, but a charge against an AT gun goes awry, and the Aussies take some casualties and only manage to force the AT crew to the ground in return.  GJR 85 keeps moving west, while Pioneers from the 5th Gebirgs Division make an air-landing at Maleme airfield.  You see that artillery gun? It has no organic transport. It has to move one hex at the time, and has to pass a TQ check to do it. It's not going anywhere fast. GJR 100 keeps up the fire: a surplus of supplies from the airfield means that their volume of fire is quite high, and the remains of the 10th NZ Brigade feels the brunt of it. 
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Jan 29, 2024 19:20
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Current Losses: Germans: 60 steps Allies: 63 steps (including 12 Greek) 
Tekopo fucked around with this message at 22:02 on Jan 29, 2024 |
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Jan 29, 2024 19:24
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Tekopo posted:Current Losses: Is that 51 steps including Greeks?
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Jan 29, 2024 21:22
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I did not count the greeks, let me fix that. I was using the step loss counter that makes it easier to calculate morale.
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Jan 29, 2024 21:48
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Game Turn 20: 1300, 22nd May The 2nd NZ Division keeps moving, trying to stretch the line south to stop the GJR 100 from getting too much of a flank on the hills south of the main position. Some Light mortars are fired, but many of the companies armed with them have not made contact with the German Mountain troops yet.  There is some relief for the 2nd NZ Division, as supplies are brought to them with a small naval landing on the coast north of the positions of the stranded 5th Brigade. (Random Event: Paradrop supplies (remove two cohesion hits)) The MNDBO keeps up the fire against 3FJR, but the results are relatively lucklustre for the volume of fire sent towards the Germans, with very few casualties sustained.  The LLSR opens up again, but this time their mortar and artillery fire has little effect, apart from making the crew of the Matildas cower within their tanks. Elements of the 7th Flieger Division in other sectors take this time to rally while they can. The 4th NZ Brigade mortars fire back, but to little effect as well, the two sides just exchanging artillery fire inconsequentially.  Pioneers from the 5th Gebirgs Division start building entrenchments on the Maleme airfield: could be useful if the Allies somehow manage to push back to this position.  With only two companies left on the very eastern edge of the battlefield, 1 FJR won't last much longer on that flank, as the 14th Australian Brigade keeps up the fire.  Fire by the GJR 100 to the south of Modion does not achieve much either, although the 23rd Battalion Company in the town itself is almost charged by the German mountain troops, although they struggle to make their way through the buildings in the outskirts.  It might be too little too late for 5th Brigade, as accurate mortar fire forces to surrender several more companies that were attempting to hold the line. The Dual Purpose guns of the LLSR light up the two Matildas that are left and even though they fail to penetrate, the crews are badly shaken. A final assault by the 7th Company LLSR finally overtakes the tanks, and they are forced to surrender.  Pour one out for the Matildas, you did the best you could fighting infantry with only AP shells.
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Jan 30, 2024 14:30
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Tekopo, does this game have/support smaller scenarios? and/or mid-battle/post-landing scenarios?
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Jan 30, 2024 14:54
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gradenko_2000 posted:Tekopo, does this game have/support smaller scenarios? and/or mid-battle/post-landing scenarios? - Tutorial Scenario where the 5th Gebirgs Pioneers attack Kastelli - Scenario 1: Rethymnon Historical Drops (uses smaller formation sizes) - Scenario 2: Rethymnon Planned Drops (uses smaller formation sizes) - Scenario 3: Heraklion Historical Drops (uses smaller formation sizes) - Scenario 4: Heraklion Longer Scenario (till May 25) (uses smaller formation sizes) - Scenario 5: Maleme/Canea Historical Drops - Scenario 6: All Historical Drops (first two days) - Scenario 7: Allied Maleme Counter-Attack (22nd May) - Scenario 8: 5th Brigade Retreat (23rd May) - Scenario 9: Canea attcks (25/26 May) - Scenario 10: Allied Evacuation (27/29 May) - Scenario 11: Full Campaign, historical drops (What we are playing) - Scenario 12: Campaign, but just Maleme/Canea/Suda/Georgeoupolis - Scenario 13: Full Campaign, free drops Some of the scenarios, especially the Rethymnon/Heraklion ones are, hmmm, far from being balanced.
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Jan 30, 2024 15:14
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14th Bde is British, FWIW.
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Jan 30, 2024 15:19
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Oh yeah, will make sure to get that correct going onwards.
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Jan 30, 2024 15:21
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Game Turn 21: 1500, 22nd May The 1 FJR continues its assault on Heraklion, with house to house fighting getting closer and closer to the docks. The Greeks are unable to do much against the Germans, however, and more Greeks are forced to surrender.  Generalmajor Meindl, commanding the LLSR, is taken out by a sniper near the town of Modion, while directing LLSR troops on their assault on 5th Brigade: another in a long list of dead or lost officers for the Germans. More Germans get cleared up in Rethymnon, although the same AT gun that gave the Aussies so much trouble is still holding strong. In Heraklion, resistance in the east is left to one company on the coast, and troops are already starting to swing towards Heraklion in order to stop the German assault there. More light mortars near Modion makes the paratroopers of KG Ramcke duck in their hideouts.  Mortars now target the vulnerable artillery of 5th Brigade, knocking out several of the guns and suppressing the guarding infantry. The scratch 3rd Company takes this opportunity to attack, and although they take light casualties from the gunners, they manage to take out even more artillery pieces.  The 5th Brigade attempts to fire back but their diminished size makes all fire ineffective, and no casualties are inflicted on the LLSR troops facing them. Some fire from the GJR 100 also seems to add little but noise to the action. Some artillery pieces, both 7th Flieger Division and 5th Gebirgs Division, do finally land, however, providing some much needed firepower to the mountain troops.  The 3 FJR, showing that they still have some ammunition to expend, fires back at the MNDBO troops surrounding them, causing some casualties but not seriously hampering the mixed brigade. The GJR 100, still fresh, keeps pouring accurate long-range fire on the mixed 10th Brigade and 4th Brigade troops, causing the whippet tanks especially to stand still due to the volume of fire incoming.  2 FJR in Rethymnon shows some signs of life, but in their weakened state, most of the fire is ineffective, with only the MG company out in the west dealing any casualties at all.
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Jan 30, 2024 16:41
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Game Turn 22: 1700, 22nd May The two sides, having made contact, are now simply slugging it out, hoping to be the first that breaks the defensive line so that they can save their comrades. The 2nd NZ Division is the first to begin festivities, as artillery and light mortars light the sky with fire. The pioneers on the very southern edge of the German inner line finally give way, and the 4th Brigade is getting closer and closer to achieving their aims and contacting the imperilled 5th Brigade. The 5th Gebirgs troops also sustain some light casualties of their own.   The 7th Flieger Division gets reorganised and saves supplies, and although some fire is sent towards the Allies, it does little. The LLSR, after about a quarter of an hour, sends a more serious storm of lead towards the position of the 5th Brigade, but the heavy entrenchments save most of them from harm.  Light Mortar fire from the CREFORCE units seems to have little effect apart from harassing the Germans, although in Heraklion some casualties are felt. The MNDBO, wanting to finally finish the German 3 FJR, mounts a spirited attack. The 13th Company 3 FJR guns are attacked, with many casualties although the Germans repulse the attack. Near Aghya Prison, where the 11th Company had held out for so long, the continuous fire from the siege finally has an effect on the paratroopers, who stop firing back at their attackers. Seeing a chance, the Hussars finally force an assault, and some extraordinary bravery on their part finally takes the prison, forcing the Germans to surrender. The fight for the titular prison is finally over.  The paratroopers of KG Ramcke get hit hard by 19th Aus Bde, and gaps start appearing in their defensive lines: it's likely they won't be able to hold much longer, but night is quickly approaching.  Over in Rethymnon, the German resistance is starting to disintegrate, and only a few platoons of infantry are left, although an MG Company on the west side proves to have some bite left after several assaults fail.  Partisans near Ropaniana to the west of Maleme attempt another time to attack the artillery pieces, but yet again are repulsed by their crews.
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Jan 30, 2024 19:27
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German resistance within Prison Valley and Rethymnon is just deteriorating very fast now, don't think they will hold out another day at this rate, especially since most if not all of the units have two cohesion hits and most that's left is support weapons.
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Jan 30, 2024 19:29
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Game Turn 23: 1900, 22nd May The LLSR moves while keeping up their constant mortar barrage, although thanks to the fortified positions held by the survivors of 5th Brigade, it has little effect. The rest of the 7th Flieger Division, or what remains of it, is quiet as night approaches. Answering fire from the 2nd NZ Division is even less effective, even though the Germans of the GJR 100 aren't in fortified positions themselves.  With resistance in the east of Heraklion evaporating, most of the British 14th Brigade troops start to move to provide support and reserves for the city. One last assault attempt to clear the last few stragglers in the east does not go ahead, as darkness is coming fast.  One last assault, however, finally cracks the last pockets of resistance, and the rest of the paratroopers on the extreme east of the battle finally surrender or are forced to scatter into isolated, combat-ineffective units. Seeing success in the east, Brigadier Chapel finally directs his troops outside Heraklion to push forward, now that his flank is secure.  The last shots of the night are fired by the GJR 100 towards elements of the 2nd NZ Division and light casualties are reported throughout the front, although the heaviest hit company is one of the remaining ones from the 10th composite brigade. Apart from that, the sun sets and yet another day of fighting is over. Tekopo fucked around with this message at 13:17 on Jan 31, 2024 |
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Jan 31, 2024 09:01
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Game Turn 24: Night, 22nd May During the night, the 5th Gebirgs Division shuffles around in the rear areas: GJR 85, having walked all day and night, finally reaches the outskirts of the Kastelli sector, where the Greeks are desperately trying to improve their defensive positions. The Pioneers are finishing the entrechments within the airport and heading west as well, while some more artillery assets arrive just before dark. GJR 100, on the front line, rests and recuperates during the night, although some harassing mortar fire peppers the night.  More Greeks on the Kastelli sector take a chance to slip out, especially after hearing reports of the approaching Germans. The resistance in Kastelli is dissipating before even despite its earlier success against Detachment Muerbe. CREFORCE also recuperates, with the only movement in the Heraklion sector, while the nightly light mortar harassment has little effect.  Threatened from the south, the 1 FJR repositions to protect their support weapons, while the rest of the 7th Flieger Division rests and recuperates in their isolated positions, while the LLSR prepares for a morning attack.  Dawn finally arrives on what promises to be yet another day of heavy fighting. Tekopo fucked around with this message at 13:18 on Jan 31, 2024 |
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Jan 31, 2024 10:59
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Historical Post: The 2nd and 3rd Day One thing to make clear is that I pushed the 5th NZ Brigade a lot harder on the 21st than they were pushed historically. The withdrawal of the night of the 20th was one that was caused by a variety of factors. Although the blame could be squared at Lt Col Andrew, that was in charge of 21st Battalion, I think the heaviest share of the blame must inevitably fall on Brigadier Hargest and General Freyberg. Hargest was likely still under the assumption that German seaborne troops would come even though none appeared, and the holding back of 23rd Battalion that was meant to counter-attack the airfields as soon as possible did not materialise, as Hargest claimed that 23rd Battalion was fighting paratroopers that had dropped around them. Although there were paratroopers in the rear positions of the 5th Brigade, they were isolated pockets of resistance and not strong enough to prevent movement of the 23rd Battalion, unlike in our game, where a defence of Pirgos was able to significantly slow the Kiwi counterattack. As such, Andrew, having lost contact with his companies on the western edge of Hill 107 and defending the western end of the airfield, pulled back from Hill 107, which forced his other companies to abandon the airfield, which was taken by the few Germans remaining. The airfield runway, although mined and set to be cratered, was not touched, since the RAF had requested for the airfield to be spared since they were planning to return once the battle was over. No real counterattack happened during the 21st, but in the afternoon the Allies realised that fresh Germans troops were arriving by being air-landed on the airfield, as the 5th Mountain Division deplaned and set up defensive positions. Spurred into action, the 5th Brigade counter-attacked on the night of the 21st, but the attempt was abortive. On the 22nd, with some assistance from elements of the 4th Brigade, another counter-attack occured, and this one almost reached the edges of the runway before being called off. In the game, my main thrust was on the 21st instead, but I likely pushed the 5th Brigade too hard, which has lead to this debacle and the virtual destruction of the entire Brigade thanks to the blocking elements of the Pioneers and Ramcke group. Something similar would happen in the next few days in real life, with the Kiwis being squeezed by attacks from KG Ramcke, the GJR 100 trying to envelop from the south, and 3 FJR trying to cut the road, but although diminished, 5th Brigade was able to escape and help with the defence of Canea that would be the centre of the battle going forward. As for the other sectors, Rethymnon saw much heavier fighting between the Greeks and German forces to capture the city itself, but even these were largely unsuccessful and the fighting started to become less intense as a small stalemate occured, although many Germans were captured during this time. As for Heraklion, the fighting in and around the city turned in a stalemate that lasted pretty much for the entire battle, which is similar to what has happened in our game so far.
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Jan 31, 2024 11:17
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Seems like 7th Fleiger Division is essentially destroyed, other than the LLSR units pushing east from Maleme - 3FJR are in a pocket in Prison valley, the Aussies are cleaning up 2 FJR in Retimno, and 14th Bde are about to destroy the remnants of 1FJR in Iraklion. Allied losses seem to be almost entirely concentrated in 5th Bde. Fortunately for the Germans, it's not straightforwards to move 14th Bde to Retimno/19th bde to Maleme/Suda.
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Jan 31, 2024 14:01
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Game Turn 25: 0700, 23rd of May Dawn is met by an early-morning bombardment by the 2nd NZ Division, which shells mostly the positions of the 5th Gebirgs Division, to some effect, with the 1st Company of the GJR 100 facing mounting losses, which forces the survivors to the rear. The preliminary fire is followed by a more accurate volley as all of the available artillery left to the 2nd NZ Division fires, concentrating on the Pioneers and KG Ramcke paratroopers, with good effect: a path has now been opened for the remains of 5th Brigade to escape, although they will have to extricate themselves out of the trenches first, which will be risky.  CREFORCE also joins into the mix, with the 19th Australian sending ineffective fire towards the Germans near Modion, but managing to clear some of the remaining Germans to the west of the Rethymnon sector.  In Heraklion, the 14th Brigade keeps grouping up and threatening the Germans from the south. The only units left in the extreme eastern edge are small groups trying to round up the gaggle of Germans that are left and some AA and artillery guns.  Air recon of the Allied positions around Modion seems to reassure the LLSR that they will be able to tackle the remaining Allied forces. (Random event: Intelligence, +2 CP +1 DP to 7th Flieger Division) A German airstrike comes in, but the targets have been mixed up, and instead of targetting the Allied forces, it strike the KG Ramcke forces holding out. Thankfully, apart from lots of swearing, no casualties are reported by the paratroopers. (Random event: Allied Air Strike)  Although for most of the morning the Allies had taken the initiative, the German artillery finally fires back, targeting the concentrations of Australian infantry that threaten the last few remaining members of KG Ramcke, but the fire does little more than force some of the Aussies into their dugouts. Further attacks by mixed MNDBO forces constrict the 3 FJR further.  Fire from the assembled forces of the GJR 100 is accurate enough to cause some casualties all throughout the line, and now that the Mountain troops have artillery of their own, it is likely the balance of power in this sector will shift soon, if the Allies aren't careful.  Near Heraklion, the Germans are also attempting localised offensives as they try to push deeper into the city. They manage to suppress the Greek troops facing them, but somehow the Greeks, defending their homeland, resist the charge.  LLSR artillery joins in, along with an airstrike from the Luftwaffe targeting the engineers on the north-most part of the Australian line, but apart from blanketing the ground with explosions, they have little effect.  The 3 FJR, seeing their imminent demise, attempt one last attempt to break northwards, but the British troops remain steadfast, although they are forced into cover at the end of the assault. The remaining German fire from the Regiment does little.  The 19th Australian advances, pushing the remaining KG Ramcke soldiers hard. In Rethymnon, there isn't much left of the Germans, and it is likely that soon the entire sector will be cleared of effective German forces.  It's the turn of the LLSR to attack, and artillery brackets the entire line of Allied troops. An assault into Modion is finally successful in dislocating some of the remaining 5th Brigade forces there.  Early morning attacks by the 2 FJR also shows that the Regiment still has some bite left, with close range mortars and artillery taking a toll on the Australians.  The GJR 85 finally is in a position to threaten the Greeks and forms up, ready to attack in the next few hours.  On the runway, the protective trenches have finally finished construction, and the Pioneers are likely to head for Hill 107 to fortify it as well. More artillery is air-landed into the island, adding to the artillery dominance of the Germans. Apart from some artillery fire from the artillery park, the rest of the 5th Gebirgs Division is quiet, as the GJR 100 holds their fire, waiting for a better opportunity. 
Tekopo fucked around with this message at 16:32 on Jan 31, 2024 |
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Jan 31, 2024 16:28
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0700 turns are always action packed to say the least. The reason for that is that I usually start building up resources starting from 1900, and during that turn you also get two free Dispatch Points per Division Activation, so I usually build up DP and purchase all of the Formation Activations during the night turn, ready for the morning, which leads to a fat stack of chits available. Some formations, though, are hardly worth the expenditure now, especially the 5th and 10th Brigades from the allies, although 3 FJR is also not in a great position. activation-wise.
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Jan 31, 2024 16:31
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Game Turn 26: 0900, 23rd of May The 5th Brigade attempts to escape, with the Engineers managing to get out without many casualties, but the same can't be said of the 19th A Company, that is forced to the ground thanks a withering fire as they attempt to extricate themselves from the trenches.  The LLSR storms the trenches, trying to prevent the rest of the 5th Brigade from escaping. The 19th A Company is caught out of their trenches and quickly dispatched. The FPC that was previously protecting the artillery puts up a swifter fight, but a flank from Modion finally forces them to surrender. The only company that has escaped is the engineers, the rest of 5th NZ Brigade has largely been captured. An airstrike targets a company in the 19th Australian, catching them in the open and causing many casualties.  5th Company, 3 FJR attempts to keep up its desperate attack against the MNDBO forces, but even though they manage to get close, the exchange of fire does little. In Heraklion, the Greeks that had previously managed to hold off the Germans finally give way, allowing the 1 FJR to penetrate further into the city.  The artillery battery that was the only thing left on the western flank of the Rethymnon sector is finally taken out, freeing the mop-up troops to head back east.  The 2nd NZ Division attempts to rotate some of the units that lost the most cohesion on the front out of the line, but accurate fire from the 3rd Company GJR 100 takes out many Kiwis as they attempt to retreat. On the other hand, the MG Company of the mountain troops takes some casualties as well. The engineers that are all that's left of 5th Brigade manage to get to the rear of the Allied forces, thankful for the escape, but mourning their dead and captured comrades.  The 5th Gebirgs Division is also preparing for an attack: the MG Company hit hard by the Commonwealth troops attempts to retreat, but accurate fire from the Kiwis take out many Germans before they successfully move. Artillery from the airfield keeps moving to the artillery park as well.  GJR 100 mounts an all-out attack, and the 2nd New Zealand Division is hit hard: many of the light tanks are finally taken out, as well as the remains of 10th Brigade. C Company, 20th Batallion faces combined firepower, making at least half of the company combat-ineffective. 
Tekopo fucked around with this message at 08:37 on Feb 1, 2024 |
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Jan 31, 2024 18:27
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Withdrawing without barraging the opponent first is really dangerous lol.
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Jan 31, 2024 19:20
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Yeah, I realised that, but the 0700 turn dried me of CPs and I knew that the GJR 100 activation was coming up.
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Jan 31, 2024 19:22
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Bloody so far. It looks like things are on a roughly historical analogue path - better in some places for the Axis, worse in others, but they're taking the island bit by bit.
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Feb 1, 2024 00:20
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