[Brave new World] 1 - British Assault

[StuccoFresco]

Hi all, this is the AAR of the first scenario of the campaign featured in my mod ( viewtopic.php?f=374&p=956644#p956644 ). To shamelessly promote it, I will post the AAR of my playtesting of said campaign. Compared with the final version included in the released mod, small changes has been made, mainly to make the scenarios a little more challenging and changing some graphics (in the AARs, Strongpoints are represented with a counter, in the released version they look like vanilla Concrete Bunkers).


SCENARIO 1 - BRITISH ASSAULT

Here we are: after years of “cold war”, the British Commonwealth finally decided to strike at the Yugoslavian SSR, with the intent of “liberating” the Romanian people from the tyrannical rule of Belgrade. More precisely, it’s the British Western Command that launched the invasion, seemingly without the full approval of the British Federal Command. This means that the Romanian front is the only one lighting up, for now.

The British-Romanian front is normally heavily defended, but since it’s early January and there are harsh winter conditions, nobody expected an invasion. Yugoslavian armored forces are training far from the front, and military intelligence failed to spot the British concentration of troops in time. Strategic and tactical surprise, as well as numerical superiority, mean a hard struggle ahead for the Yugoslavian Eastern Front, deployed in Romania. At least until reinforcements arrive.

British troops are much stronger than mine, given their overwhelming armored and artillery support. Strongpoints are good for holding the line, and their strategical placing will definitely slow down the enemy's advance, but my infantry will have to cling to every hex and supporting fire I can muster. My goal will be to slow their advance and if possible inflict as many armored losses as I can, hoping to hold enough objectives till the end. It would be cool to down some Commonwealth Bomber during the battle: I have a pretty strong AA cover almost everywhere and my Interceptors are ready; unfortunately, British Figthers are superior in dogfights.




1 to 2/1/1940
Brnici's Strongpoint and 102nd Pešadija (infantry) Division are sent to reinforce the strategic Cradove crossroad. The enemy pushes hard against the riverline and clears minefields. Enemy Ironsides Brigades, choke-full of assault guns, are already fording the river. Counterattacks are out of the question: I would lose entrenchment bonus and I wouldn't even inflict enough losses to make up for it.

I try to get enough Interceptors wings airborne, but the enemy sends two Fighter Wings against them; the AA around Staritsa downs dozens of them, but they indirectly protect their Bombers as I can't go intercept them.

[StuccoFresco]

3/1/1940
47th Pešadija is having a lot of troubles up north at Tragonev: two Ironsides Brigades have crushed one of its regiments and are fording the river. Support fire from the Strongpoint and two infantry counterattacks have inflicted some losses on the enemy, but not enough.

11th Pešadija is sustaining losses around Mrovan, with another Ironsides Brigade pushing against its lines.

The British smash 34th Pešadija' lines and are creating a breakthrough between Tziane and Mrovan: the sad remains of two Pešadija regiments are fleeing west toward Cradove, the last one is retreating in good order toward the Aciadi Strongpoint. If the British troops decide to swing south, the entire Tziane front could be encircled.

The air war is going relatively well: thanks to the strong AA assets around Staritsa, one British Fighter Wing has been decimated and another one completely annihilated; Interceptor losses are acceptable at 45 planes for now.


4/1/1940
Repeated infantry and armored assaults have crushed 47th Pešadija defenses at Tragonev. The division is retreating toward the forest just west of the town and fighting off the enemy as it can. The order is to retreat toward Lesovi, where another Strongpoint will help stopping the enemy.

11th Pešadija has suffered heavy losses at Mrovan and it's retreating toward Aciadi. Just south of their position, a full breakthrough happening, with several Infantry and Armored divisions exploiting the gap. 35th Pešadija has been dispatched from Tziane to at least try to slow the enemy advance by threatening its southern flank, aided by a Podržavaju regiment.

Tziane and Nitminevo fronts are still holding. The British aviation has seemingly retreated to its airfields; Interceptors of the 8° Combined Group are attacking enemy bombers around Tziane and escorting CAS sorties against the armored British units advancing north of the city.




5/1/1940
The cavalry arrives! Literally! X Konjica Korpus is here to hopefully save the day: I immediately send it eastward to Cradove. And not a moment too early: the British troops have smashed my defensive lines almost everywhere. Tragonev is surrounded, Mrovan has fallen. Two British armored regiments, supported by an Ironsides Brigade and some infantry, are converging on Tziane from the north and threaten to encircle my forces around the city. 35th Pešadija is trying to hold them at bay, but it's likely a doomed effort. 38th Pešadija is still holding the city against repeated assaults through the riverline.

In the south, 41st Pešadija has lost an entire Regiment during the constant onslaught of British assaults.

[StuccoFresco]

[interlude]

Vickers&Vauxhall M3 “DUKE” heavy tank

The British “Duke” Heavy Tank had a tormented history: the Commonwealth Army requested a new tank in 1938 with the intent of both fielding a large number of tanks, and said tanks being superior to any other rival design. The ambitious specifics were tackled by every large heavy industrial firm in the Commonwealth, but the one that caught the War Cabinet’s eyes was the one submitted by a mid-sized one: the Vickers Truckworks.

Vickers Truckworks was known for its high-end farming and heavy-duty vehicles, but had a limited production capability. Its owner was also the Duke of Wellshire, and was regarded as an engineering portent that strived to employ the best of the best. The quality of VT design was unquestionable, but the War Cabinet correctly foresaw that they wouldn’t be able to fulfill the quotas requested.

The solution was to force VT to open a partnership with the much bigger Vauxhall Motors industrial complex, and to change its project to adapt it to Vauxhall’s specifics. The original high-powered VT engine was swapped with a less powerful but much less complex one, and the mass produced 4pdr gun was adopted instead of the newly designed 5pdr. Other components were replaced with cheaper and simpler ones. Mass production started in early 1939.

The final result was a tank that in 1940 was still a formidable opponent in battle, but that ended up having tons of reliability issues. The 36-tons tank was very slow, the engine was prone to overheating and breaking down over long distance travels, the turret's traverse speed was abysmal and the periscopes weren't adequate. The overall protection was still excellent and the 4pdr was a good gun, but British Armored Regiments rarely fielded more than 3/4 th of their vehicles: the rest was always under repairs. Fuel consumption was also very high.

[StuccoFresco]

6/1/1940
Tragonev is about to fall: 47th Pešadija retreats beyond Lesovi, I plan to send it to bolster Staritsa's defenses.

11th Pešadija has gathered around Aciadi's Strongpoint, but British units are convergin on it from all directions. British 2nd and 4th Armored Divisions are approaching Cradove, with 5th Ironsides Brigade in tow. I have three Huszàr Brigades ready to rumble, and two Tenkovske Divisions just behind.

35th and 38th Pešadija are still trying to hold off the British at Tziane, while 41st Pešadija has lost another Regiment and is fleeing the Nitminevo's area. AA and the attack of 50th Interceptor Wing wreak havoc on an enemy Bomber Wing above Tziane.




7/1/1940
2nd and 3rd Huszàr move forward and counterattack the British 4th Armored Division that had just started the offensive against Cradove smashing through a regiment of the 102nd Pešadija. Their VK-10c tanks are completely outclassed by the massive British "Duke" heavy tanks, but they make up their inferior armor with superior mobility and reliability. As usual, dozens of Dukes are stuck in maintenance, and their turrets' slow turning speed makes difficult for them to keep the aim on the fast Yugoslavian light tanks. In the fierce battle, the 50mm high-velocity guns of the VK-10c are able to penetrate the sides of the British tanks and knock out about 50 of them with negligible losses.

1st Huszàr, meanwhile, advances SE of Cradove and finds a lone Infantry Regiment on the main road. A swift and devastating attack sends the British infantry reeling back with heavy losses.

Tziane, Aciadi and Nitminevo are holding, for now.


8/1/1940
With British forces swarming over the river, the Eastern Front recognizes the impossibility of defending the original border, and allow a withdrawal in order to defend the two key cities of Cradove and Staritsa. (event text has been fixed in latest release).

2nd and 3rd Huszàr keep hammering at enemy armored forces outside Cradove, and both 85th and 90th Tenkovske take position respectively north and south of the city. 1st Huszàr is counterattacked by two Ironsides Brigades and withdraws before suffering sensible losses.

Tziane falls; the remaining units of 35th and 38th Pešadija retreats southwest trying to avoid destruction. The British sweep aside most of Aciadi's defenders. The remains of 11th and 34th Pešadija are sent to Brnici, hoping the city can be defended in case the amassing British troops decide to swing north and attack Staritsa from the south. Numerous enemy Infantry regiments are seen advancing toward Lesovi. Interceptor Wings of the 8° Combined Group gang up on an unescorted British Bombers wing over Tziane and destroy it.






9/1/1940
3rd Huszàr suffers a counterattack by British 2nd Armored Division and is forced to retreat after suffering extensive losses, including around 12 ZMT-40 tanks and 60 VK-10c. 2nd Huszàr and 85th Tenkovske launch another assault on the enemy forces, almost annihilating an enemy armored regiment destroying more than 30 Duke heavy tanks. A Podržavaju regiment supports the attack.

A regiment of 47th Pešadija Division is caught by advancing British troops around Lesovi and destroyed in the battle. The town's Strongpoint is engaging the besieging units. Aciadi's Strongpoint is surrounded; the entire area is crowded with British infantry moving westward. British 5th Armored and 3rd Ironsides Brigade are present too.

4th and 5th Ironsides assault 105th Pešadija Division at Cradove, crushing one of its Regiments; a counterattack launched by 1st Huszàr Brigade and supported by a whole Artiljerija Regiment catches the advancing Brits by surprise. In the battle, around a hundred "Bison" Assault Guns are destroyed.

35th and 38th Pešadija Divisions that were trying to escape Tziane are caught in the open by three British Armored Regiments and cut up into picies. Only a single battered regiment is still operational, with another stuck defending Tziane's outskirts and basically doomed.

Nitminevo's Strongpoint is surrounded and under heavy fire by several British Infantry Divisions supported by 8th Ironsides.

[StuccoFresco]

10/1/1940
Resistance at Tziane and Nitminevo has ceased; British Armored troops are still chasing the remnants of my units in the area, which means those heavy tanks aren't going to push against Cradove any soon, and that's good.

Cradove itself is safe for now: with the X Konjica Korpus bolstering the defenses and occasionally counterattacking, British losses are mounting quickly. Aciadi still holds against all odds.

The situation is much worse up north: Lesovi is under heavy artillery fire, and I can see two full-power Ironsides Brigades, a Motorized Division and a lot of infantry around it.




11/1/1940
Lesovi falls. Enemy armor ceases its pursuit of my fleeing units in the south so I presume they'll turn toward Cradove. The situation around the city seems to be under control: the British offensive is uncoordinated and thanks to artillery and antitank support I don't present any weak point to the enemy. For now. British artillery is still not showing up.


12/1/1940
85th Tenkovske is still guarding the southern approaches to Staritsa together with a Podržavaju Regiment, but British pressure is mounting and one of its Regiments has to withdraw from the frontlines together with 3rd Huszàr. 2nd Huszàr is thus forced to withdraw as well to avoid being isolated. This opens a wide gap between the Cradove defensive region and the rest of 85th Tenkovske. 14th CAS Wing tries to discourage a British armored advance with repeated sorties against armored concentration in the area, escorted by three Interceptor Wings.

Enemy forces make contact with Staritsa's northern defensive line, but are driven back by two counterattacks. Enemy's 2nd Ironsides Brigade looms just outside of the city's gun range. It's a veteran formation that could smash through the city's defenses, and I'm considering moving a Huszàr brigade up north to counter it.




13/1/1940
Yeah, I should have moved some armor north before. There are TWO Ironsides Brigades, and they just crushed one of 77th Pešadija Regiments. The lone surviving regiments of 11th and 47th Pešadija take position around Staritsa's Strongpoint. Numerous British armored units are starting to encircle 85th Tenkovske, so I retreat it at Brnici. 2nd Huszàr is sent north as well.

90th Tenkovske keeps beating back any British unit that tries to advance on the southern flank of Cradove. British troops in front of the city are in a bad shape: mostly understrenght, unsupported and disorganized.




14/1/1940
British focus has definitely shifted toward Staritsa: 49th Motorized, 10th Infantry, 5th Armored Divisions together with 5th Ironsides are moving toward the city from southeast. 34th Pešadija, 2nd Huszàr and 85th Tenkovske are giving ground but resisting.

Staritsa proper is under heavy assault from the north as well, so much that one of 85th Tenkovske regiments has been sent to counterattack one of the Ironsides brigades that are pushing against the defensive perimeter. So far the counterattack has destroyed 30 Bison assault guns and some Duke heavy tank. The support of a Podržavaju and Staritsa's Strongpoint has been invaluable to keep the armored assaults at bay, but the mix of Pešadija Regiments from three divisions is suffering heavy losses: the British concentrate their assaults against one Regiment after another, crippling one each day.


15/1/1940
Staritsa and Brnici hold pretty well for now, but the British has launched a surprise offensive against 90th Tenkovske's lines southeast of Cradove, inflicting serious losses. In a frontal assault, two Regiments belonging to 4th and 13th Armored Divisions engaged 90th Tenkovske's ZMT-40 tanks and destroyed about 40 of them thanks to their superior armor. The whole Division is withdrawing closer to the city, so the local Artiljerija Regiment can support the defense.

[StuccoFresco]

VK-10c Huszar Light Tank
When the Bulgarian Kingdom was annexed and integrated into Yugoslavia, its arms industry was nationalized. The Sofia industrial complex was one of the few that managed to retain its best designers and skilled engineers, thanks to a series of bribes and bureaucratic battles with the Industrial Committee. The managers retained a strong national pride, and with most of the "conventional" military demands already met by the Zastava colossus, they went to the glorious but recently overshadowed military institution of the Huszars.

The Huszars had a glorious past but an uncertain future: as the Great Wars saw the dominance of the machine gun and artillery, cavalry fell from grace and faced obsolescence. Fortunately, some of the military higher-ups thought that mechanization could help it stay relevant, and the Sofia industrial complex (now renamed State Industry H15) was quick to meet their needs.

The VK series were submitted to the War Committee: much lighter than the ZMT series, much faster and agile, but still able to pack a punch. Their 10-ton design met all the specifics requested by the Huszars, and the smart adoption of the Zastava standard 40mm AT gun, already in use by the Yugoslavian army, was accepted into service in 1935. Several improvements brought the tank to 12 tons, but it was still quite vulnerable to enemy fire. Thankfully, the Huszars didn't mind: their Brigades were meant to move quickly through difficult terrain and more armor would slow the tank down too much.

The simple design and the collaboration with several other SI-H plants granted high production numbers. The VK usually suffer high losses in armored confrontations, but the aggressive tactics suit their speed, mobility, numbers and dangerous guns, making Huszars Brigades a deadly threat even to the British heavy tanks.

[terminator]

Happy to see Nato symbols in this strategy game!

[StuccoFresco]

Happy to see Nato symbols in this strategy game!

Credits to Maitrebongo: it was his mod that gave me the basic tools to make mine. I come from The Operational Art of War, which I gave up from the modding standpoint because its editor's UI is atrocious. I missed the "professional" look of it and I aspired to port it to OOB.

[StuccoFresco]

16/1/1940
Staritsa's airport is under attack: the 8° Combined Group might be lost soon. Staritsa itself and Brnici are under constant attack, but fortunately it seems the enemy artillery is mostly still out of range. 3rd Huszàr joins the battle, moving from Cradove and mounting a rear attack on a regiment of the British 5th Armored Division.

90th Tenkovske has to retreat two of its regiments to regroup and receive replacements. Cradove is still holding strong, but fresh enemy Divisions are amassing, expecially on the southern flank.






17/1/1940
British forces redouble their efforts against the Cradove defensive perimeter: one regiment of 102nd Pešadija is badly beaten and forced to retreat, while the last regiment of 105th Pešadija is now at around half his nominal strenght. British armored losses are high, however: our infantry is taking advantage of the AT cover provided by the city bunkers.

Enemy 49th Motorized is trying a flanking move on Brnici. A lone regiment of 77th Pešadija relieves a heavily fragmented regiment of 34th Pešadija, that retreats into the town proper. Tanks of the 85th Tenkovske counterattacks the enemy motorized elements and drive them back. 2nd and 4rd Huszàr coordinate an attack against the enemy lines, that ends with two Infantry Regiments and a Motorized Regiment isolated from the rest of the British lines.

Staritsa is almost completely surrounded. I see two Infantry Divisions, a Motorized Division and two Ironsides Brigades (albeit at around half health) pushing against the defenses. The airport is still under attack, but resists.

Overall, I'm losing a lot of units and I'm approaching the limit given by one of my objectives. However, I'm more than willing to sacrifice units if it means I get to keep Staritsa and Cradove from falling.


18 to 20/1/1940
We are out of resources for reinforcements, and the airfield has fallen dooming what's left of 8° Combined Group. Enemy forces, however, aren't strong enough to overcome Staritsa, Brnici and Cradove's defenses in the next couple of turns. I launch a couple counterattacks to eliminate some weakened British unit, then I hold strong.







CONCLUSIONS
As the in-game event predicted, we couldn't hold the enemy at the border so we had to concentrate on defending our backfield and keep enough units alive. We made it, barely. The British offensive was strong, but badly coordinated: British dedicated artillery regiments stayed too far from the frontline, unable to properly support their assaults on my fortified lines around Brnici, Staritsa and Cradove.

X Konjica Korpus was absolutely crucial for the survival of my defenses: its units provided much needed armored power to launch dozens of local counterattacks that crippled enemy vanguards again and again. The mobility of the Huszàrs has been particularly important, allowing me to employ them around the three Strongpoints as needed.

The 8° Combined Group did all it could, downing dozens of enemy Bombers, but suffering heavily against British Hurricanes.