ASL: Back to the Barricades! (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. 

Interested ASL players take note!  Dave Hauth and I are are engaged in another big battle over the Barricades.  We have come to mutual agreement to each maintain a "blog correspondence" wherein we individually publish our thoughts on our game with the agreement that neither will read his competitor's posts until our campaign game is complete. So, I present to those interested ASL players out there my half of said correspondence.

You can read Dave's half of the correspondence here.  You can read my previous entry here.

Plans for Day 2

So far, so good.  My retained forces from Day 1 are:

468 x 2
467 x 18.5
447 x 2.5
548 x 5.5
9-1 x 3, 8-1 x 2, 8-0 x 2, 7-0
HMG x 2, MMG x 2, LMG x 4, Lt Mtr x 2, DC x 1, ATR x 2, Russian HMG, Russian LMG
PzKpfw IIIL

In the Chemist Shop pocket:  7-0, 548, 238 x 2
There is an immobilized PzKpfw IIIL in bypass of Z2 along the Y3 hex side.

After endgame bookkeeping, I was allotted 17 CPP for the coming Day.  My purchases are these:

Sturm Company  = 9CPP
548 x 12
MMG, LMG x 2, DC x 2
9-1, 8-1, 7-0

StuG B Platoon = 4 CPP
StuG B x 3
10-2 armor leader!

Nebelwerfer module = 2 CPP
Plentiful ammo
Pre-registered hex G13 = 1CPP

I have 1 CPP left, which I'll put in the bank for the following day.

My plan is to have two distinct attacks.  The smaller attack will occur on the German left.  My retained Sturm troops will advance south from the area around Y6.  They plan to reinforce the isolated troops in the Chemist Shop pocket, and expand south from there.  They will be supported by the reinforcing StuGs.  But no lightning breakthrough is planned.  Rather a slow, methodical attack, pushing south toward the Commissar's House.  The StuGs will probably enter on hex  DD1 and drive right up to AA9 to support the attack.  They'll put down smoke for cover.

The other attack will occur in the west.  The Nebelwerfer will be pre-registered for hex G13 and called down by a leader with a field phone. It will hopefully disrupt the Russian defenses so that my reinforcing Sturm company can come in right behind the barrage and seize ground.  I hope to gain ground to the south along hex rows F through I and maybe even seize building K10, if an opportunity presents itself.

But the rule for the day is this:  stay out of the factories!  Creep southward on both the east and west sides of the map.

Setup

A cursory inspection of Dave's set up seems to indicate that he has purchased 2 militia companies to defend the factory complex.  That's fine with me.  The militia can sit in the factories unmolested.  Of course, if he tries to move them out to support either flank, I'll have something to say about that.  And as soon as he leaves the factories, that Fanatic bonus goes away...

West side

At the end of the last campaign day, I discovered some minefields on the west edge of the map, north of building B12.  Apparently, Dave invested some resources into defending that building.  And, although his setup today would seem to indicate that he's now ceding it to me, I'm not so sure.  It wouldn't surprise me if he had some hidden units lurking in there, looking to give me a bloody nose when I try to enter.  Well, I'm afraid I won't oblige him.  I've got a platoon of 2nd line squads in that area, just to keep him from creeping north.  But building B12 is not on the agenda for the day.  If I can, I'll isolate it and leave it like low-hanging fruit for another day.  After all, I can always enter along the west edge of the map.

Looking at the setup, I'm pleased with my choice of hex G13 as the Nebelwerfer pre-registered hex.  No matter where it drifts, nor how far (up to 3 hexes) its going to hit something.  And I might get lucky and really hammer Dave's forces.  My observer is in the first level of hex M6.

My one functional PzIIIL is in the E hexrow to interdict any Russians trying to move east from the B and C hex rows and also to threaten a flanking move on Russians in the F hex row as they attempt to hold off my Sturm company (which will be coming from the north).  I have a machine-gun kill stack in H7 that will move to H9 on turn 1.

In the M6 building, I've got another kill stack that will support the attack in the west and also guard against any encroaching Russians that might want to cause me grief in the O6 factory.

I hope to get as far as the 14-15 hex rows by the end of the day.

East side

In the east, the attack will be more limited in scope.  Here, I hope only to get  as far south as hex rows 12 and 13 by the end of the day.

On this side I'll be attacking with my depleted Sturm company from Day 1.  They'll be supported by the StuGIIIB smoke-belchers, which will enter on DD0 for the quick advance.  Dave has his anti-tank gun in Y14, but I know that it is manned by unqualified infantry, since I eliminated both of his gun crews on Day 1.  Therefore, I'm not too worried about it.  My StuGs will advance south to take positions along the cliff around hexes DD10 or EE11 or thereabouts and lay smoke to cover the advancing Sturm troops.

It could get nasty in this area.  I can account for only about 8 to 10 CPP of Dave's purchases.  I think he has purchased 2 militia companies for 8 points, and a couple fortification points, for 10.  But that means there are at least another 5 CPP that are still out there.  And that means artillery.  I suspect that there is an artillery observer somewhere in the Commissar's House who is going to call down an artillery strike as I advance.  Well, hopefully the smoke from my StuGs will make it hard for him to get an accurate strike.

I've got a kill stack in Z4 and some supporting 1st line squads in the U through W hex rows that are mostly there to prevent the Russian from advancing on the O6 factory from the east.

I'm surprised by the big stack of Russian units in FF10.  It would appear to be a couple Russian squads with machine guns and a directing leader.  Dave, apparently, is trying to discourage an advance along the riverbank.  But whatever is in hex FF10 is in trouble.  That's an exposed position, and I aim to trap whatever is in there with a StuG and some advancing infantry.  An opportunity for some relatively easy CVP.  We'll see...

Our game is scheduled for Saturday, after Thanksgiving.  We'll see how it goes...

To be continued...