Comments on A Bit Defensive by JasonC

These are JasonC's comments on my AAR entitled A Bit Defensive.

Here is my analysis of the "A bit defensive" AAR. I'll write comments on others as I get a chance.

Your idea of using ATRs and 76 infantry guns as an AT network wasn't sound. You noticed the problem of sideways narrow arcs, that the enemy armor just doesn't rush forward like that. But you should also notice that the weapons aren't really suited to the idea.

ATRs can deal with halftracks, but are pretty marginal against tanks. If you need a 100m flank shot, (1) you aren't likely to get one (2) you are likely to be spotted after and killed. The biggest strength of the ATR is the difficulty spotting it. But that only comes out at longer ranges. To still penetrate, it needs to be shooting at something thin.

A couple of ATRs set back with wide LOS can handle HTs without exposing themselves, or more valuable larger AT guns or tanks. If you have more you can plan 300m and under fire lanes that cross at 120 degrees to get flank shots, and the ATRs will cover against light armor more generally (HTs, ACs, thin SP guns, Pz IIs), with some "annoyance" value against heavier 30mm sided tanks. Do not expect ATRs to provide "heavy AT" or true AFV killing for any area.

For ATG coverage, use 76mm divisional guns rather than the short barrelled 76mm infantry guns. The latter are HE chuckers. Cheap and fine for anti-infantry work, but pretty ineffective against armor (not accurate because of low muzzle velocity, poor range for the same reason, shells only effective vs. light armor, etc). With the force you had, only your KVs and T-34s were effective anti-tank weapons.

You won largely because (1) the AI attacks poorly (2) you took KVs in an era before the Germans have anything that can handle them (3) the Germans had only a platoon of tanks.

You did discover that a light arty barrage followed up with light armor is a very effective combination against infantry in the open or in marginal cover, like wheat and brush. That is a useful lesson. Humans typically avoid true open ground, but often have to use wheat or brush as "approach cover" because there aren't enough trees or the routes covered by them are too predictable and easy to defend.

A light FO to break initially, and a few light AFVs to cover with MGs vs. stragglers, can deny such avenues very effectively. The trick tends to be getting angles for the light armor that let them see the field the enemy is trying to cross, without exposing themselves too much to enemy armor. Sitting behind a house or wooded area with crossed angles of view can often accomplish this.

You could have used you existing heavy weapons much more effectively on the map you had. I mean your HMGs and 76mm infantry guns. Those are a strong combo against enemy infantry. You want to set them up in places with 300-500 yard sight lines, covering wide areas. Russian HMGs have limited firepower alone, so use pairs to cover each area.

By staying far back, you avoid giving the enemy more than a sound contact even when firing. And if he does locate you, his fire is limited - small arms do essentially nothing to men in cover at such ranges.

The 76mm infantry guns are used to deal with the covered areas, while the HMGs deal with the open ground. The HMGs pin men that leave the cover, halting advances and tending to make men collect in a few areas of woods. (Wire can also block some woods "exits", incidentally - the near side, a short ways in). Then the 76s unmask and dump HE into those woods. For very large woods, a TRP and light FO can be added.

You anticipated attacking infantry coming out of the "bowl" on your right correctly, but your defense against it was faulty. It worked anyway merely because the AI was poor and attacked piecemeal, and because you have 2 T-34s against mere halftracks as the remaining armor match up in the area at the critical time.

Your infantry defense in that area was too far forward. Instead of trying to hold every body of woods in your set up area, when you correctly anticipated an attack out of the "bowl" you should have chosen a *killing zone* to deal with the expected attackers. The obvious way to do this was (1) to conceed the first blocks of woods (where you actually set up your infantry) then (2) to halt additional progress beyond them and (3) then to plan on breaking men moving beyond those bodies of woods, and finally killing within them.

How would you go about doing this? To start with, by sighting the heavy weapons in two positions on your right rear and in the center hill area. Those then cross their fires just on your side of the first block of woods. 2 76s should be able to see those woods, the near side. 3-4 HMGs should be able to see the fields past them, from 2 angles crossing at 90 degrees. Then put the second TRP on the woods themselves, for a blast of 82mm at the right moment.

Next, look at all of the bodies of woods past the one you just conceeded. The large ones, put infantry platoons inside. The small single tile ones, ideally you'd put in an AP minefield to deny them as cover. If a few single tile woods or buildings are near each other, a platoon with a plus command rating leader to reach them all can be used to deny those. These infantry forces then get shortened covered arcs to avoid firing at enemies in the woods opposite, but fire at men that come out into the open and approach their own bodies of cover.

As for the T-34s, not so far forward. They'd be behind woods or rises, between the two heavy weapons positions, back near your board edge. Their primary mission is to hunt for German armor supporting their attack, after your infantry spots it. Their armor will have to come looking for your heavy weapons for their attack to work. When they do, you pop out and bag them, one at a time. If you've dealt with the armor, naturally they can come out to help against the infantry afterwards.

So, what happens to the attackers? They leave the bowl area where they are safe, uncontested. They can accumulate in a covered area past that - but one under observation and potential fire, not an invunerable place in dead ground. This is important. You don't want his rally and jump off point to be invunerable.

Then, do not contest them in that covered area prematurely. Do not try to KO them in cover at range with HMGs and infantry fire. Instead wait for them to begin moving beyond that cover. Of course some of them will stay and overwatch from that cover - that is to be expected. Understand that attackers face a general "cover shortage" and tend to pack men in to any decent spot they can safely (so they think) reach.

When the men cross into the open, the HMGs pin them, from too far away to be more than sound contacts. If enough of them press on, they find the next bodies of cover occupied and are fired on by full platoons of ordinary squad infantry, in open ground or wheat cover and at close range. When that fire breaks them, they have a long way to go to get back to cover, under HMG fire lanes.

Then rallying men have few places to collect besides the original woods. And reinforcements for the attack have few other places to come from. The conceeded woods should start getting crowded. You may not see them all, but flags will collect there as units are lost to view. If overwatch fire coming out of the woods gets heavy, or you see a lot of those flags, it is time to unmask the 76mm infantry guns and dump HE into the woods. Save the 82mm mortar blast for a final smashing, or after your 76s get KOed (e.g. by enemy armor, or mortars).

If you've won the armor war, T-34s can come out too. Their MGs will deny the open ground areas, supplimenting the foot HMG teams. Their 76s suppliment the towed ones, dumping HE into the woods. If things are going well, you can even approach the near side of the woods to 100m or so to increase the tank firepower, and send in a platoon or two of infantry to counterattack into the broken men in the kill zone woods.

See the idea? You want to let the attackers in someplace, to localize them. It lets you focus your defensive scheme on a target. Then you defend beyond the target sack, counter first by fire concentration into that target sack, and finish by counterattacking into it if all has gone well and the attackers there are broken. To create such opportunities, though, you have to be willing to defend from farther back, to conceed some distance along some obvious approach routes.

You noticed how bad it was to reposition an HMG team from one body of woods to another by foot movement. Slow heavy weapons should generally sit still on defense, or at most reposition within the same body of cover (to see right side, or left side e.g., typically 50m or less). If you must move from one body to another, make sure the route is covered, there are friendlies in the spot being moved to already, and if over 100m use a vehicle or forget it.

I hope these comments help.