ASL: Bustin' the Barrikady yet again (Pt. III)

Note to readers: This post won't make a lick of sense to anyone who isn't familiar with the Advanced Squad Leader game system.
 

My old friend and ASL nemesis, Dave Hauth, is back!  Fresh off our recent Red Barricades game, in which I finally seem to have found an effective counter for his "fortify the riverbank" strategy, Dave is ready to give it another go.  This time the game is RBCGIII:  the Barrikady, with yours truly in the role of General Von Paulus and Dave doing his best impression of grandfatherly Marshal Zhukov.  

For your vicarious ASL enjoyment, both players will once again maintain a blog correspondence as the game progresses with the agreement that neither will read his opponent's blog until given express permission to do so.  Dave and I have faced off in so many ASL campaigns and scenarios that a Gentleman's Game is both assumed and assured.

Readers are encouraged to comment!  Got a problem with where I placed my AT gun?  Speak your piece!  Just be sure not to inadvertently reveal any information about Dave's plan to me or vice-versa.  You can read Dave's blog here.  You can read my previous entry here.

Aftermath of Day 2

Woeful times are these!  Day 2 may not have been a disaster, but it did one hell of a convincing impression.  First, the perimeter.

Day 3 perimeter

My push east for the river was slow and bloody.  As I pushed eastward from the O6 factory, my Sturm troopers had to contend with 80mm mortar artillery, dug-in tanks, and minefields.  Nonetheless, with the help of my Stukas and my Pz IIIs I was able to get a foothold in the Chemist's Shop.  But Dave had Russians hidden in the cellar and kicked me out, taking a toll of 2 Sturm squads in doing so.  I destroyed one of the two dug-in KVs and all of the T60s, but was unable to capture the pillboxes or Building Z1.  I failed to meet my goals for the day.

Meanwhile, in the west, I cautiously advanced to capture Building B17 and the entire F15 factory, only to have my rifle squads routed back to the north in the face of a Russian counterattack.

I ended up capturing 23 stone locations for the day, which was not enough to win the scenario.  My woes were compounded by the final casualty tally for the day:  Germans suffered 58 CVP; Russians suffered 42 CVP.  Bad news, Heinrich.

My retained forces for the day are these:

• 548 x 15.5
• 468 x 8.5
• 467 x 5
• 447 x 1.5
• 9-2 x 2, 9-1 x 2, 7-0 x 2
• HMG x 2, MMG x 4, LMG x 4, DC x 2, Atr, Lt. Mtr.
• Stug G
• Pz III H
  

I am allotted 17 CVP for Day 3. I toyed with the idea of taking an Idle day, but I don't think I can afford it. Dave ended Day 2 with 49 squads. I need to destroy some Russians or they will soon become too strong for me. So, I decided to choose the Attack chit, and made these purchases:

• Rifle Coy (depleted) 7 CPP
  467 x 9
  9-1, 8-1, 7-0
  HMG, Atr
  
  
• Pz IIIL Pltn 4 CPP
  PzKwIIIL x 3
  
  
• Btln Mtr w/offboard observer 3 CPP
  Observer hex:  L0
  
  
• Nebelwerfer w/pre-registered hex 3 CPP
  Pre-registered hex:  Y9
  

My problems are compounded by a poor roll for my rifle company. Only 9 squads. At least I retained the HMG!

Plan for Day 3

If I'm going to pull a victory out of this poor start, I mustn't panic.  And so, my plan for the day is to finish what I started on the day before.  I must get to the river.

Head down and keep pushing

The 80mm mortar offboard observer is in hex L0 where he can call down smoke to assist with the assault on the river and also drop shells to support the rifle companies in the west against any Russian aggression there.  The Nebelwerfer is pre-registered to fall on hex Y9, which will make for an interesting placement of the field phone.  Fortunately, the leader using it need only stay there long enough to get the module dropped.

Once I see Dave's setup, I'll allocate my forces.

Challenge accepted!

First off, I'm pleased with my pre-registered hex for the Nebelwerfer.  Odds are good that it will hit something.  And if I can get it to drift north or northeast, there is the potential for a big score.  But Dave has set up strong to defend the cliffs behind Building Z1.  It is going to get extremely hairy over there.

It'll take more than a few Red Army punks hiding out in foxholes to turn me away!

The perils are many.  One big fear, as always, is some nasty artillery set to drop on me as I advance east,  But I'm guessing that, if he did buy artillery, he might have it trained on the debris field to the west of the Chemist's Shop.  A bigger worry is that he may have purchased an AT battery which could play hell on my PzIIILs that are going to smash into his trench line in the BB hex row.

I must steadfastly resist the urge to grab ground in the west.  My reinforcing rifle company will take position in Building B12 and hold their ground.  No more disastrous probes southward.  And I will content myself with very cautious probing in the factories.  Let the militia sit and wait for my assault.  Or, better yet, push northward into my machine-gun sites.

After the poor showing on Day 2, today's attack is driven by desperation.  I simply must find a way to knock the Russians back on their heels, and a successful push for the river might do it.  But, judging from what I see, Dave has guarded well against such an endeavor.  Well, so be it.  Here we come, Ivan!  Let's see what you've got.

To be continued...