US Corps '42 - 45 (Ultimate)

Battle Reports & After Action Reports (AAR's)

Moderators: Slitherine Core, Panzer Corps Moderators, Panzer Corps Design

huckc
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:38 pm
Location: USA

US Corps '42 - 45 (Ultimate)

Post by huckc »

This playthrough is for my favorite campaign, US Corps, on the secret difficulty mode "Ultimate". It features all the unlocked difficulties (hooray!) combined plus Field Marshall (boo!):
  • Field Marshall : -50% XP
    Rommel : -50% prestige income
    Manstein : +5 enemy strength
    Guderian: -5 turns
I've played through this campaign before on Manstein, which was brutal but fun, especially Wargames being nearly impossible so this is as much to see how far I can get and maybe encourage others to have a go and try to beat my progress while waiting for Panzer Corps 2!

As expected easily the most difficult facet is Manstein while in my opinion the least enjoyable is Field Marshall, with its crushingly slow xp rate. Without the Field Marshall portion this would be divine but I digress, let's get to the fight!

(No reloads, but plenty of scenario restarts )

(All default options, except for limited dice chess rules being on)
Last edited by huckc on Thu Jan 18, 2018 6:24 am, edited 2 times in total.
huckc
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:38 pm
Location: USA

Re: US Corps '42 - ? (Ultimate)

Post by huckc »

Scenario 1: Formation

This one was actually extremely difficult, even relatively speaking, due to having only five turns to reach and destroy a 15 strength stronghold backed by artillery, let alone all those other pesky enemy units getting in the way!

Took me a while to hone this but the optimal strategy seem to be to let the enemy units stream down to the south into my defended victory hex while my armored force plus engineers move up from the west and hammer away at the stronghold.

You're given a choice of 8 of the 12 available units, so my decision was based primarily on actually being able to win the scenario with the secondary being prestige value. I took:
  • Engineers - Bonus vs. stronghold, necessary to win
    M3 75mm artillery/anti-tank - Support the attackers and suppress the backing artillery
    M4 Sherman - No brainer, mainstay of the attack and decent vs. the stronghold
    M5 tank - Attacking, ok at everything
    M3 tank - Attacking, pretty crap but good enough to take a point or two vs. the stronghold
    105 artillery - Defense of own victory hex
    HW infantry - Defense of own victory hex, valuable transport
    US infantry - Defense of own victory hex
Plan of attack:
Image

Result:
Turn 5 DV
Image
Image
Attachments
(04.08.2017) Formation, Turn 5 DV 2.zip
(50.41 KiB) Downloaded 227 times
Last edited by huckc on Mon Oct 23, 2017 7:13 pm, edited 5 times in total.
huckc
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:38 pm
Location: USA

Re: US Corps '42 - ? (Ultimate)

Post by huckc »

Scenario 2: Achnacarry

The focus of this one was dealing with the 16 strength enemy paratroops on the fortified hex that was also the sole victory one.

Disbanded all my non-essential units to come up with force of (5) M4A3 shermans and (3) M7 priest artillery. All that artillery was crucial to deal with the entrenched paratroopers who are otherwise a rugged defence machine.

Immediately upon capturing the first town you get this captured farm-shop anti-tank gun, which is more of a hindrance than anything, drawing enemy units from sleep and it's not made part of you core.

About half way thru (turn 6) I was able to retreat the paratroopers and eventually took the rest of the flags due to some impetus enemy attack.

Unfortunately I had no infantry a field to be able to take the two upgrades to rangers offered, arguably the best infantry in the game. I just couldn't sacrifice a tank or artillery slot and still be able to win. In a desperate attempt however I moved two of my tank units to the upgrade hexes, thinking rangers would magically spawn! (They didn't)

Result:
Turn 13 DV
Awarded an SE fighter P 47-B Thunderbolt
Attachments
(04.08.2017) Achnacarry, Turn 13 MV 3.zip
(53.34 KiB) Downloaded 216 times
Last edited by huckc on Sat Oct 21, 2017 9:12 pm, edited 5 times in total.
huckc
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:38 pm
Location: USA

Re: US Corps '42 - ? (Ultimate)

Post by huckc »

Scenario 3: Casablanca

Relatively easy one surprisingly. Only needed to capture three victory hexes total for an MV so my plan was to focus on the three least defended ones naturally, which were all exterior to Casablanca.

Pretty smooth sailing to start off with, landed my troops without issue and was able to overrun the defenders pretty quickly and capture the three victory hexes, I then moved up inland to capture a few undefended towns and airport, one of which had the french 105 artillery capturable that I eventually disbanded for some much needed prestige!

Had to deal with a couple isolated, but two star experienced enemy 15 strength fighters. So I took advantage of the two aux fighters provided and mass attacked them with the three total at my disposal, including my own SE 47-B thunderbolt.

At around turn three a bunch of friendly aux units show up at the bottom of the map just south of Casablanca, however they had no chance to do anything tactically useful since they were so much weaker than the defenders of Casablanca.

There was a lot of naval action which didn't have much of an actual effect on my mission since I knew I had no chance of sinking the capital ship for a DV, let alone capture all victory hexes needed as well. So I landed my troops as quickly as possible to not get slaughtered by the significant enemy navy, then had a little fun playing battleship.

Result:
Turn 7 MV
Captured french 105 artillery piece with truck transport added to core
Attachments
(05.08.2017) Casablanca, Turn 7 mv.zip
(63.61 KiB) Downloaded 228 times
Last edited by huckc on Fri Aug 11, 2017 8:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
huckc
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:38 pm
Location: USA

Re: US Corps '42 - ? (Ultimate)

Post by huckc »

Scenario 4: D'jebel Abiod

I love this map! One my favorites.

The plan here is to focus on the primary victory hex in the north, named after the scenario Djebel Abiod, ignoring the south which would just end in enemy tank-induced tears. Only need to hold this one hex to get an MV.

Along the north I deployed on the four available hexes in order to have a maximally potent first arrival affect. (1) M4A3, (1) M10 Wolverine, (1) M14 GMC 155mm artillery (upgraded), and (1) 90mm M1A1 AA. The AA was needed to chip away at the 15 strength two-star experienced enemy fighter before my weaker fighters had at it.

To the south I deployed the remainder of my core that will drive as fast as possible to help out at Djebel Abiod.

The scenario begins with two unfortunate aux french infantry being faced with the German wave of strong armor and infantry. Their morbid goal was to allow as much time as possible for my forces to reach the city.

Fortunately the Germans didn't arrive until turn three giving my french units a chance to retreat into the city as well as the forested river crossing. Thanks to this the Germans were not able to cross the river and my northern force was able to take position comfortably at the objective.

Also this turn my air force and AA engaged with the enemies' resulting in the near destruction of their one fighter from a mass attack of my own four (two aux P-40s and my own two SE 47-B Thunderbolts).

Finally for this turn three friendly aux units appear in the south, at which I took the neutral city and airport for some prestige, with the plan for next turn of hightailing to the north and hide! Run to the hills (forest)!

From there on it was just a matter of not making any big mistakes and keeping my tanks nicely backed by artillery, while enjoying a few surrenders from trapped enemy paratroopers for some nice pocket change.

Result:
Turn 7 MV
Attachments
(05.08.2017) Djebel Abiod, Turn 7 MV 3.zip
(58.35 KiB) Downloaded 240 times
Last edited by huckc on Fri Aug 11, 2017 8:24 pm, edited 2 times in total.
huckc
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:38 pm
Location: USA

Re: US Corps '42 - ? (Ultimate)

Post by huckc »

Scenario 5: Tebourba

Another one my favorites, taking place within capturable site of Bizerta!

However from previous playthroughs I know that you get thrown a historically correct curveball and your mission changes to defending the westernly objectives against a very strong and determined enemy.

So my plan was focusing entirely on holding Beja as well as capturing and holding Medjez el Bab to the south by south east. The latter being top priority in order to spawn an airfield which I otherwise have none, "just" an aircraft carrier to the north but it's a two turn trip just to get there from the fighting in the south.

Some pretty heavy fighting along the road to Medjez to start off with, including major air clashes, and I eventually take the strongly defended city at turn 6.

The strong German counter-attack to re-take Medjez doesn't occur until turn 7 (or is it a positional trigger?). However since it's only 9 turns total at this difficulty the attack doesn't reach me in time and I enjoy one of the easiest victories I can expect.

Result:
Turn 9 DV

Edit:
I've since re-started from here after the rude awakening of my first try for Scenario 8: El Guettar, in order to have more experienced M10s at my disposal. I deliberately triggered the counter-attack as soon as possible in order to get some good training action, which worked out pretty well.
Attachments
(05.08.2017) Tebourba, Turn 9 DV.zip
(64.35 KiB) Downloaded 216 times
Last edited by huckc on Fri Aug 11, 2017 8:24 pm, edited 2 times in total.
huckc
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:38 pm
Location: USA

Re: US Corps '42 - ? (Ultimate)

Post by huckc »

Scenario 6: Morning Air

Surprise, another favorite of my mine. I love the music and atmosphere of this desert campaign!

So after my not so gutsy and slightly cheeseball victory last scenario I chose Morning Air, after finding Spring Wind was impossible-to-me to win without massive losses to my core at the very least.

This one is much easier since you can win just by evacuating, huzzah!

Despite that I at least needed to make a strong defense and deployed my core accordingly. You also get quite a few aux units so my goal was to actually evacuate as many as possible for much needed disband prestige. I did leave a few of these infantry units on some rugged terrain to choke the western road and slow down the attacker so they, especially their air force, arrive in piecemeal fashion to my main body.

At around turn 5 their strong air force shows up and I took a lot of damage just to destroy their one fighter after being weakened by my AA units.

Turn 6 their ground forces finally show up but in a disadvantaged position and a few heavy blows were delivered by me but nothing major has changed.

At turn 7 I get the message to evacuate so I make a fighting withdrawal that nearly destroyed many of my core units and unfortunately destroyed an aux tank that I wanted for prestige, so close!

Result:
Turn 8 MV
Attachments
(05.08.2017) Morning Air, Turn 8 MV 2.zip
(65.67 KiB) Downloaded 225 times
Last edited by huckc on Fri Aug 11, 2017 8:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
huckc
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:38 pm
Location: USA

Re: US Corps '42 - ? (Ultimate)

Post by huckc »

Scenario 7: Sbiba

This scenario revolves around a river in the center of the map and is intended for you to retreat across it and at least defend the crossing from a strong German attack, while optionally blowing up the bridges, then counter-attacking with the provided bridge engineers and taking the remaining objectives to the south of the river.

However at this difficulty it is impossible-to-me to even do the bare minimum and I had to resort to cheese in order to even win after trying in vain numerous times to win with normal play. The cheese tactic was a full retreat to the north, out of enemy sight, then attacking to the south at three turns remaining in order to snipe the objectives to the north of the river.

Oh did I try to win with no cheese, including blowing the bridges but the enemy was just too strong despite the unfavorable river terrain they were attacking on. The real kicker was their strong and well armored backing artillery that I had no reasonable way to counter. Maybe if I got super lucky and the AA unit attacks first across the bridge but I hate to rely on such luck so many turns into the scenario.

Result:
Turn 15 MV
Attachments
(05.08.2017) Sbiba, Turn 15 mv.zip
(62.16 KiB) Downloaded 209 times
huckc
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:38 pm
Location: USA

Re: US Corps '42 - ? (Ultimate)

Post by huckc »

Scenario 8: El Guettar

Action begins in the northwest as I grind my way thru the weakish defenses near the east bank of the Oued Sidi Ach river while at the same time zooming down some infantry and artillery on the road unopposed along the west bank. Construction crews accompanying both parties.

I take Gafsa in the southwest corner at around turn 5 then cleared out the remainder of the defenders and plant my construction crews on turn 7, which is the last turn possible before the game hands you a loss. I delayed it as much as possible due to the massive counter-attack that's triggered by it.

A couple turns follow with no action, the enemy still making its way to come visit me and hug it out, in the meantime I tried to maneuver an aux HW infantry to the unopposed town along the road to my defenses but didn't get there in time and they were summarily defeated without issue, the mines got in the way. Apart from that, the defense began superbly as I was able to pick off most of the enemy units in this first wave since they were still in their transport vehicles, thus easy pickings.

The next wave comes the tanks, including a near invincible 3-star tiger that was able to one shot most of its victims, including a core M10 tank destroyer. Luckily I was able to destroy most of their AA (three or four of them) which allowed me to grind down the tiger with my air force, one health at a time. I lose a few more core units thanks to the tiger and some other strong tanks in this wave but eventually held thru and cleared them all out. The last to die was the tiger which I had surrounded then finally destroyed.

Probably going to have to re-try this one, lost too many core units to reasonably continue in the long run. Don't know what I was thinking not bringing a strategic bomber to ammo dump the tiger which is clearly the best tactic in this scenario.

Result:
Turn 20 MV
Three core units lost, but gained a captured Sherman Crab and Panzer 3.

---

Scenario 8: El Guettar (Retry)

Pretty much the same strategy as above except of course bought a B-17F to use on the tiger, which worked quite nicely as expected. Was also more aggressive with the aux M10s since losing them isn't a big deal.

*Only* lost one core unit, a rookie M10 so very happy overall.

Result:
Turn 20 MV
One core unit lost, gained a captured Sherman Crab and Panzer 3.
Attachments
(07.08.2017) El Guettar, Turn 20 MV 2.zip
(73.73 KiB) Downloaded 239 times
(07.08.2017) El Guettar, Turn 20 mv.zip
(73.21 KiB) Downloaded 206 times
Last edited by huckc on Fri Aug 11, 2017 8:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
huckc
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:38 pm
Location: USA

Re: US Corps '42 - ? (Ultimate)

Post by huckc »

Scenario 9: Hills

Relatively easy one. My plan was to focus on the two victory hexes in the middle of the hills. Was originally going to spearhead the push with Rangers but then realized the 15 strength enemy artillery would cut them to pieces so I used my Shermans and Panzer 3 instead, which proved adequate. The enemy infantry defending the hills generally opted not to counter-attack my tanks, despite the hilly terrain, due to my powerful backing artillery within their looky look range. The photons from the sun bouncing off them and arriving into the retinas of Italian infantry.

The relatively high defense of my 155mm GMC artillery, 5 points, made them pretty impervious to counter artillery.

So after inching my way into the hills, one hex at a time, I was able to secure both victory hexes with a few turns to spare. Spending the remainder of the time mostly wearing out the gun tubes even further.

There was a counter-attack against my HQ around turn 5, but the tanks were pretty weak and I had little trouble disposing of them with my experienced M10s.

Result:
Turn 15 MV
No major losses.

The next three scenarios to close out '42 will be much more difficult.
Attachments
(08.08.2017) Hills, Turn 15 MV.zip
(63.91 KiB) Downloaded 207 times
Last edited by huckc on Fri Aug 11, 2017 8:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
TSPC37730
Sergeant First Class - Elite Panzer IIIL
Sergeant First Class - Elite Panzer IIIL
Posts: 420
Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2015 9:43 am
Location: Dallas TX

Re: US Corps '42 - ? (Ultimate)

Post by TSPC37730 »

I've recently dusted off US Corps '42 & I'm enjoying your play through. Hope you'll keep posting & thanks.
huckc
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:38 pm
Location: USA

Re: US Corps '42 - ? (Ultimate)

Post by huckc »

TSPC37730 wrote:I've recently dusted off US Corps '42 & I'm enjoying your play through. Hope you'll keep posting & thanks.
Will do, thanks. Hopefully I can make it to 43 but the finale to 42 will be super tough.

It's my third play-through, so I benefit a lot from hindsight and memory :lol:
huckc
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:38 pm
Location: USA

Re: US Corps '42 - ? (Ultimate)

Post by huckc »

Scenario 10: Enfidaville

Guderian is very potent on this one, due to the already low turn count. I'm down to only seven turns to take the heavily entrenched city, about 60% of the turns your normally get so a huge portion lopped off.

So because of the extremely low turn count I had no choice but to brute force attack the city with all my units along the path of least resistance, which in this case is the eastern side of the city facing the coast. You don't get enough hexes for proper deployment in this direction, so I reserved about half my core for deploying on the second turn after the first group moves up.

By turn three I cleared out the outskirts and began my hug of the city. I had to be extremely careful NOT to destroy the weaker enemy units in my hug, unless I can fill in the void left behind, otherwise they'd just be replaced by stronger anti-tanks which will destroy my units via blocked surrender.

The next few turns saw the enemy attacking back, causing massive damage but also suffering plenty of their own. Eventually they were too weakened to mount any further counter-attacks and mostly just sat there as I bombed away, reducing the entrenchment of experienced panzer grenadiers guarding the victory hex.

Turn seven I was able to surrender the panzer grenadiers guarding the victory hex in the middle of the city, at which point I drove a Sherman in to claim it while backed with artillery. Oddly they didn't attack that unit when closing out the final turn, but nearly destroyed an M10 instead.

Result:
Turn 7 MV
No core units lost, but extremely expensive replacements.
Attachments
(08.08.2017) Enfidaville, Turn 7 mv.zip
(60.37 KiB) Downloaded 203 times
Last edited by huckc on Fri Aug 11, 2017 8:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
huckc
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:38 pm
Location: USA

Re: US Corps '42 - ? (Ultimate)

Post by huckc »

Scenario 11: Mateur

Time is again not on my side but fortunately not to the extent of the last scenario, 11 turns this time out of the normal 16 so not too bad. Again, the focus was entirely on seizing the key city on the map, Mateur, so I concentrated all my forces to form a central thrust in order to overrun the enemy units in my way and reach the city as soon as possible.

One thing I didn't expect was the enemy to start off aggressive but fortunately my star lead M10 ambushed their spearhead without taking any damage. I then picked apart these initial forces of infantry and tanks, using a combined arms of air, artillery, and tanks.

Turn two I continued mopping up the enemy units half way to Mateur, including dealing with a very strong fighter, a BF-109, that took its toll on my thunderbolts, despite hitting it with my two AA units first.

Turn four I continue the advance and take a small town a few clicks from Mateur, however after distributing my forces around this point I realize I was in sight range of an enemy recon unit who then alerted their two strong tank and anti-tank units nearby and dealt some heavy damage to my lead tanks, but fortunately no complete destructions. I like to use the captured Panzer 3 for this since the game gives you free reinforcements between scenarios.

Also this turn another fighter appears, this time an FW-190, who hits one of my P47-D thunderbolts for 6 damage, dropping it down to 3 and effectively out of the battle from there. Next turn I took it out with my AA units and two remaining thunderbolts.

The battle was pretty much won at this point, I sieged Mateur's three defending troops who had little recourse other than surrender.

In the meantime I remember there being some supply dumps to the south of the city so I sent some armored units to scout them out and destroy them. They found them but also alerted a very strong Panzer 4 who hit the lead M10 for 7 damage. I opted to retreat from there and consolidate my gains of Mateur and a victory.

Result:
Turn 11 MV
No core units lost, but plenty of reinforcements needed.
Attachments
(09.08.2017) Mateur, Turn 11 MV.zip
(69.15 KiB) Downloaded 236 times
Last edited by huckc on Fri Aug 11, 2017 8:22 pm, edited 4 times in total.
huckc
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:38 pm
Location: USA

Re: US Corps '42 - ? (Ultimate)

Post by huckc »

Going into the final scenario of '42, the assault on Bizerta, I thought I'd list my core as it currently stands:

Tanks:
(4) M4A3 Sherman 75mm
(1) Sherman Crab
(1) Aux Panzer III groupie

Anti-tank:
(3) M10 Wolverines

Infantry:
(1) Rangers infantry

Artillery:
(5) M12 155mm GMC artillery
(1) M7 Priest 105mm artillery

Anti-aircraft:
(2) M15A1 GMC

Fighters:
(3) SE P47-D thunderbolts

Tac bombers:
(1) B-25B

Strat bombers:
(1) B-17F

Prestige:
519

Mostly 1 and 2 stars in experience.

My next couple acquisitions will probably be another M10 and Rangers. I normally like lots of infantry, but at this mode with the over-strengthened enemy artillery they become less useful.
goose_2
Tournament Organizer of the Year 2017
Tournament Organizer of the Year 2017
Posts: 3207
Joined: Tue Dec 23, 2014 5:22 am
Location: Winterset, Iowa
Contact:

Re: US Corps '42 - ? (Ultimate)

Post by goose_2 »

huckc wrote:Going into the final scenario of '42, the assault on Bizerta, I thought I'd list my core as it currently stands:

Tanks:
(4) M4A3 Sherman 75mm
(1) Sherman Crab
(1) Aux Panzer III groupie

Anti-tank:
(3) M10 Wolverines

Infantry:
(1) Rangers infantry

Artillery:
(5) M12 155mm GMC artillery
(1) M7 Priest 105mm artillery

Anti-aircraft:
(2) M15A1 GMC

Fighters:
(3) SE P47-D thunderbolts

Tac bombers:
(1) B-25B

Strat bombers:
(1) B-17F

Prestige:
519

Mostly 1 and 2 stars in experience.

My next couple acquisitions will probably be another M10 and Rangers. I normally like lots of infantry, but at this mode with the over-strengthened enemy artillery they become less useful.
You are crazy! :P I would love to try this level, but because of my technological deficiencies I am stuck trying Manstein as my greatest difficulty
goose_2
Lutheran Multiplayer Tournament Organizer. :-)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRHQShaOv5PWoer6cP1syLQ
huckc
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:38 pm
Location: USA

Re: US Corps '42 - ? (Ultimate)

Post by huckc »

Oops, edited over this one. I forgot what I put here so I'll keep it short.

Scenario 12 and '42 finale: Bizerte

Plan of attack (north):
Image

Plan of attack (south):
Image

First try:
Get the win but fail to get the capturable Panzer IV and lose an M7 Priest in the process to add insult to injury.

Second try:
Pretty near optimal to the plan, get the capturable Panzer IV without major losses.
Image
Attachments
(10.08.2017) Bizerte, Turn 11 MV Retry.zip
(72.83 KiB) Downloaded 199 times
(09.08.2017) Bizerte, Turn 11 mv.zip
(71.77 KiB) Downloaded 179 times
Last edited by huckc on Sat Oct 21, 2017 9:25 pm, edited 5 times in total.
huckc
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:38 pm
Location: USA

Re: US Corps '42 - ? (Ultimate)

Post by huckc »

Scenario 1 '43: Gela

Despite re-doing the last scenario nearly perfectly and getting the Panzer IV capturable with no core losses, I found myself completely overwhelmed at the beachhead here in Sicily, in both the air and ground. The really difficult part is being able to move inland and across a river to get the final objective needed for victory, with only seven turns total, two of which are for the landings.

Another huge problem is the massive enemy air force, about six or seven over-strengthened aircraft.

Going to have to disband my Panzer IV in order to over-strengthen for the next try. It's roughly on par already with my Shermans and is a dead-end expensive upgrade, pretty much can never afford upgrades at full retail price for this mode.

Plan C is acquisition two airborne units to take the inland objective.

Result:
Not yet :(

Scenario 1 '43: Gela (Second try)

The only major change was buying a Hellcat to help clear out the western beachhead , which will be the final push to the airfield. Also tweaked the deployment so an AA unit comes a shore on the second landing to block one of the two powerful Stukas on this map.

Landings went pretty well, destroyed the strongpoint facing the west beachhead which massively cut down on the enemies visibility of that landing zone, also allowed my experienced Rangers to slip into the city hex it was on.

Also used my B-17F to induce the single enemy fighter in the first wave into an extremely costly defensive attack from the hidden P-47D, which allowed more of these Thunderbolt resources to completely destroy the other plane in the first wave, a powerful Stuka.

From there on it was a matter of holding the line and clearing out the enemy as much as possible. All but two objectives were taken within the first few turns, those remaining being Gela in the city and the pesky inland air field that will be the major pain point of this mission. The Rangers were pretty confident they could take Gela but the airfield will be fateful.

Turn five begins in motion the plan of taking the airfield, I send a Sherman thru the broken lines of the enemy enroute. Turn six it then crosses the river over a bridge and engages with the AA unit defending the airfield, and thanks to the special Cruisers with +7 range providing fire support I was able to retreat the AA unit off this final victory hex. Fortunately next turn the enemy's strong Tiger and top-end Italian tank unit wasn't within striking range and it was left unmolested to take the hex on the final turn, 7.

Result:
Turn 7 MV
No core losses but plenty of replacements needed.
Evacuated the battleships for a massive windfall of prestige, I'd be flat broke otherwise after replacements. The Carrier being the crown jewel at 4000 prestige :shock:
Attachments
(10.08.2017) Gela, Turn 7 MV.zip
(62.41 KiB) Downloaded 205 times
Last edited by huckc on Fri Aug 11, 2017 8:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
huckc
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:38 pm
Location: USA

Re: US Corps '42 - ? (Ultimate)

Post by huckc »

Scenario 2 '43: Gela Counter-attack

Time is actually on my side this time, only seven turns for a mission that's normally a defense then counter-thrust, the latter not being possible in this case.

Formed a defensive perimeter around Gela and the five supply dumps I needed to defend, backed by artillery and AA. The line held throughout barely, the key being not getting overwhelmed by enemy aircraft.

There are some very strong German units that try to cross from the eastern river directly into Gela, including a couple 3-star Tigers, however my Rangers plugged the bridge nicely.

Result:
Turn 7 MV, four of the five supply dumps survive.
Very few casualties :o
Attachments
(11.08.2017) Gela counter-attack, Turn 7 MV.zip
(66.02 KiB) Downloaded 191 times
huckc
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Master Sergeant - U-boat
Posts: 531
Joined: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:38 pm
Location: USA

Re: US Corps '42 - ? (Ultimate)

Post by huckc »

Scenario 3 '43: Agrigento

Pretty easy one, needed to move 10 ground units onto the edges of the map.

First few turns I clear out the initial screen of defenders. I then race my units over the hills and far away, taking a few towns when the opportunity arose, and using bridge engineers to expedite the process.

The Hellcats were great here, with their seven movement points.

Result:
Turn 13 MV
Almost zero casualties
Attachments
(11.08.2017) Agrigento, Turn 13 MV.zip
(66.22 KiB) Downloaded 227 times
Post Reply

Return to “Panzer Corps : AAR's”