Current Time 2200 HoursTurn 8 Staff Report: 2/116 ceases their attack at 2022 after a 400m advance. They report 47 casualties and the loss of 5 tanks. Our forces report receiving indirect fire from 120mm mortars, 88’s and 105’s. 2/116 is expected to recover from its cohesion loss around 2230. Note: this battle is still currently being played out and these results may be adjusted accordingly when the battle is completed.
3/116 made contact at 1810 and ended at 1959. They suffered 39 casualties after advancing 200m. Our forces report receiving indirect fire from 120mm mortars and limited fire missions (likely from our counterbattery fire) from 105’s. 3/116 reports a full recovery from their cohesion loss.
3/115 made contact at 1810 and ended at 2000. They suffered 30 casualties after advancing 200m. Our forces report receiving indirect fire from German 105’s. Cohesion recovery for 3/115 appears imminent.
1/115 made contact at 1811 and ended their attack at 2003 after advancing 200m. They report approximately 31 casualties. Our forces report receiving indirect fire from 120mm mortars. Cohesion recovery should happen before 2230.
Approximately 90,000 lbs of artillery ordnance was expended during this round of combat.
This round of combat we suffered 147 casualties, and 5 tanks were knocked out. Totals for the day are 303 casualties and 12 tanks knocked out.
2200 Unit Dispositions
Plan of Action: right now we believe it is to our best advantage to rest our forces and allow them to re-group for more action in the morning. While ammunition levels are OK at the moment attacking further will only serve to cause greater fatigue, ammunition expenditure, and losses for what appears to be a limited gain. In our judgement, it appears that we are better served to re-new our attack at dawn. The engineer battalion will reform on the road between A/92 and 111th FAB. The 747th Tank Battalion will form up at Couvains. The remainder of our forces will remain in place, rest, and recover. There will be no offensive artillery fire missions to allow for ammo replenishment, and gun maintenance.
Game Note: I have little data on the German casualty rates in this area from July 11, however I do have reliable information on casualties sustained and artillery expenditures for the Americans. Historically the 29th lost around 500 men on this day. This scenario produced 303 casualties, but the Americans delayed their initial assault till noon. So if the Americans had started their assault at 0600 in this scenario (as what happened historically), you could interpolate the results to be close to 500 casualties. So that is a good sign that my game mechanics are producing reasonable results! If anyone has any data they want to share (from credible sources), please feel free to let me know.
Even though I don’t have any data regarding the Germans, 176 casualties feels a little light…but I can’t be sure at this point. One huge factor is that I allowed the Germans to start in prepared defensive positions. I see no reason at the moment to tweak anything, but I will definitely keep an eye on this. You are witnessing the first real play-through with all these different mechanics in action together, warts and all! While there is definite work needed, I am happy with how it is coming together. I hope you are getting a lot of value with seeing a scenario unfold and getting a real feel for how the game concept is supposed to work. It is my hope that these scenarios will lead to better understanding.
I havn’t taken the time to analyze artillery expenditure yet, but that will be interesting to see how that turns out!