Grand Tactical Training Scenario

[MengJiao]

  KG Chill and the 59th Div deploying in the fog.  Artillery fire from the 101st called in by
a rearguard (in this case acting as an outpost to call in fire) is hitting some light flak.
The loss of cohesion markers on KG Chill are due to attempting to forced march.

  This shows the situation just before the fog lifted.

   As it happens, the fog lifted at 9 am and things heated up.  Screenshots to come of that.

[MengJiao]

   the fog lifts (9am).  The 101st Airborne's glider regiment moves first because its chit was pulled last for the
7am turn (they never got a formation move -- just a direct order and a divisional move) and they shoot their
mortars (illegally in one case as it turns out).
   Next the independent units of KG Chill shoot up the Independent Units of the Guards Armored (legally!)
and some tanks attached to the 101st (illegally!  I forgot about the raised railroad-- it blocks line of sight
as well as being very hard to get on and off of if you use it to move fast in column -- actually I'm not sure about
that since that shot probably came down the railroad from the left now that I look again at the situation -- a perfectly
legal shot).
   then a formation of KG Chill advances mostly on the left of the Glider regiment.
   And some of that looks like this:

[MengJiao]

   So KG Chill and the 59th keep pushing on despite artillery fire from the 101st and machine gun fire from light armor in
Liempde .  Some step loses and cohesion loses ensue:

[MengJiao]

   So, still 9am turn.  The Cold group from the Guards Armoured gets a good chit pull and some fine radio rolls on the
medium artillery.  This is very lucky; first to get to move as a block after the enemy seems good, second to have the
artillery fire before other formations activate is very good since even a barrage that does little damage (I think this
one only inflicted one cohesion hit) reduces the fire zone of the units under the barrage to 1 hex (ie around 750 meters
for consistant opportunity fire).  There's some substantial AT firepower cancelled by the barrage which with its low
troop quality (in this case probably simulating more the problems of having big AT guns in advantageous positions at the
right time than anything else) would still have plenty of potential shots at a 4 hex range against a lot of armour if the
Guards want to attack.  The Guards spotters are in improved positions and the guns are in the same division so a 0-5 roll
will enable the barrage to fire (60%) all rolls for the mediums are good and a pretty good barrage hits the big AT guns of
KG Chill:

[MengJiao]

So, still 9am and the 101st pulls its divisional activation.  I'm thinking its a good time
to recover some cohesion and put out some outposts and pull back the light armor screen.
(the 101st has control of 2 British armoured regiments/battalions).
I decide to pull back a company since it can't recover in an enemy fire zone.
I use an action point to move in a fire zone during a divisional move and this
triggers opportunity fire from a stack of three heavy sp AT gun platoons (a Jadgpanzer V and
two IVs).  The AT guns roll well (firing HE presumably) and all fire and all hit.
The company takes one step loss outright and two cohension hits.  Since it
already had one cohension hit, it is completely out of action -- out of the game.
The stack of step loses in the image shows where this happened.

[MengJiao]

   Situation at start of 11am turn.  The first chit will be the independent units of the 101st.

   The Cold group of the Guards made a well-timed attack.  It looks to me like they will
wipe out the elements of KG Chill facing them.

   Meanwhile, the main bodies of KG Chill and the 59th might push even closer to the Club Route.
They are only about 5-6 Km from it right now:

[MengJiao]

11 am starts with a lot of uncoordinated bangs:

101 independent (tanks) shoots and scores no hits.
Group Cold blasts KG Chill for a cool obliteration or two.
Group Chill Independents shoot back for no hits.
59th Infantry Blue Formation advances and takes a town losing
coherence as it moves faster in some cases than its ability to
maintain cohension can cope with:

[MengJiao]

  And then things get worse for KG Chill.  Group Cold pulls its divisional activation and finishes off the detachments it was
facing using divisional action points for second actions to fire.  Then it mostly goes into column to move elsewhere to
block the German thrust toward the Club Route.

   I haven't played this system at a full division level (well Group Cold is about 1/3 of  the Guards Armoured and is organized
as a monster brigade or KG or task force of all arms) so it was pretty surprising how full motorization effectively multiplies
the power of a force -- at least on a moderately good road net and with good command control (Group Cold also has the
largest command radius- 10 or 5 kms so it can control forces over a 10 km front, which it is doing here).  As I noted elsewhere,
this game system has many similarities with the circa 1990 stand and die game that covered the battle of Mozhansk (at Borodino Station
on the Moscow Highway) -- the system seems well-suited for the dynamics of mobile vs semi-mobile.

   It took group Cold six hours to block, pin and wipe out KG Chill's poorly supported spoiling attack, and prepare to move on to engage elsewhere.  Meanwhile KG Chill and the 59th haven't done much more than push back the most advanced outpost line and get hit by a lot of artillery while doing it.  On the allied side, big reserves (1 Bn of the Glider regiment and most of Group Cold) are ready to parry the German thrust should it ever get going.

[MengJiao]

Mid day (still 11 am turn).  Both sides fire a lot of artillery and KG Chill and the 59th continue to advance:

[Keunert]

which game is this btw?

[MengJiao]

which game is this btw?

   Where Eagles Dare.  It's the second in the Grand Tactical Series by MMP.

    Apparently the original system is based on something called Panzer Command from 1985.  Since I've seen a lot of
games with panzer and command in the titles, I probably saw the game in 1985 and read the title as HoHum HoHum.

    In many ways The Grand Tactical Series resembles Stand and Die from 1990 or so (scale 500 meters, etc.)

[MengJiao]

which game is this btw?

   Where Eagles Dare.  It's the second in the Grand Tactical Series by MMP.

    Apparently the original system is based on something called Panzer Command from 1985.  Since I've seen a lot of
games with panzer and command in the titles, I probably saw the game in 1985 and read the title as HoHum HoHum.

    In many ways The Grand Tactical Series resembles Stand and Die from 1990 or so (scale 500 meters, etc.)

    I'm bumping this up in case the new Grand Tactical Series games are generating some interest.