AAR (After Action Report)

[PunitorMaximus]

place your AAR´s here!
AAR means that you write a battle report, if you feel like it

[ComnenusTheOne]

Thought i'd repost my old AAR here.

Map: Alpine Pass (i chose it to represent Norway's mountains better)
Norway VS Germany

Norway: 825 men (of which 75 cavalry, rest infantry)
-mostly line infantry, some jegern
Germany: 1275 men (of which 150 cavalry, rest infantry)
-mostly line infantry (Germans and Askaris), no jagern, 2 uhlan units

Norway: I spread evenly (in theory) my army to cover up most of the gaps upon the hills of the Alpine Pass. Both jegern and line infantry units are used defensively. My cavalry takes forward position on top of the pass.
Germany: Both cavalry deployed in center along with 2-3 line infantry units, most askaris. Beginning forward march.
Norway: My forward cavalry begins firing, and lasts a few seconds when the Germans decide to counter attack. When melee ensued, they held longer.
Germany: Counter-attacks with fire across the entire front. Most success is in the center, where they rout some of my units. Germany resorts to melee.
Norway: Defeats the assault on flanks, but the center is lost. Nearly 6 german units have broken the line. Begin pincer move.
Germany: At this point they started acting retarded. Gathering by the center and getting shot up one by one, by my rapid movement. At this point both armies have most units in rout.
Norway: Steady counter attacks towards the encircled german units, took them all down, one by one.
Germany: The last unit, sturmtruppen, makes a last stand, while gets shot by both front and rear. Retreats.

Generally speaking, it's a quick bloodbath. I didnt use any artillery pieces, because it would make the battle even faster. Germany's mistake, probably due to vanilla AI, was trying to break my center when, having the bigger numbers, could easily break one of my flanks, who apparently were the weakest link, and collapse my entire front. Instead they used brute force (resorting to melee as well) to break my center and risk getting encircled. Although they did try to attack the rest of my front, after the central collapse, my units already took defensive position and broke them, thus making it far easier for counter-attack.

[ComnenusTheOne]

Map: Algeria
Diff: Hard
Greece (me) VS Turkey (cpu)
Unit scale: Tiny

Greece deploys: 747 men = 4 units MG (2 MGs per unit), 4 units artillery (1 cannon per unit), rest infantry (75 men per unit)
Turkey deploys: 1007 men = 2 units MG (2 MGs per unit), rest infantry (75 men per unit)

Battle:

Greek army deploys along the walls in the defensive position of Algeria map. Most infantry entrenched behind said walls. Artillery not far behind. Two MGs on right flank, two MGs on left flank. Two infantry units covering the left flank MGs, one infantry unit in reserve (coincidently my "general" unit).

Turkish army deploys in classic frontal assault line, with MGs lumbering in the rear, but otherwise ignoring the abilities and weakeness of each unit, deploying infantry units randomly in line.

Greek artillery prooved generally ineffective as stopped firing after a certain moment (clearly needed to be ordered again to fire, classic vanilla bug, though need be fixed).

Turkish forces broke my right flank, guarded by two MG units. Machine guns prooved ineffective, refused to fire at will and got picked off by the Turkish artillery. Reserve infantry was needed to guard the flank. Cannons were still not firing.

Left flank held fast, thanks to infantry being deployed there. Needed to use tactical retreats to rear positions to draw Turkish infantry to crossfire with MGs. Didnt work, MGs were picked off while firing few rounds, didnt help at all.

Infantry in both flanks engaged in standoff pitched firefights, 1 dead of our own for 1 dead of their own, slow enough to give me time to react, instead of having a full rout and panicking. Initial reserve Greek infantry engaged in melee with Turkish forces, created a mess. Resorted to withdrawing entrenched units and fire back. Not... many, survived the melee fight.

Entrenched Greek infantry stood fast and pushed back every frontal assault with ease, while on flanks, non-entrenched infantry resorted to redeployments to draw the Turkish units in crossfire and push them back. At the end, the Turkish army was in full retreat.

Aftermath:

Greek army inflicted 926 casualties upon the Turkish army, sending them in full retreat.
Turkish army inflicted 292 casualties upon the Greek army, causing the rout of 4 MG units and 2 infantry.

Impressions:

The battle felt indeed like WW1 should be. I wouldnt worry about minor details (of course i would, fix the Greek infantry pants before you feel the wrath of ComnenusTheKhan). Some thought though:

1) Machine guns (puckle guns for now) COULD be placed a bit higher from the ground, makes it far more realistic and obvious. And possibly the soldiers manning the MGs to be kneeling instead of standing, a better visual aspect. Possibly some visual only entrechment around them, nothing serious though, some sandbags here and there, wouldnt hurt either.

2) Cannons need cannon sound, a better one, so do rifles. And less flame when they fire. The cannonfire earthworks and exlosions need a biiiiiiiiiit toning down, while the explosion groundhole is ABOVE the ground for little bit. You need to make it go lower.

3) In infantry, i liked the texture for the rifle, makes it good enough for early releases and such. Infantry works good in all cases, doesnt need much tweaking at all. With the new animations we can also forget the need to add LIB (light infantry behavior) as they work just fine the way they are. Some minor tweaking might or might not be needed. Frontal attacks against non-entrenched infantry might very well succeed, while against entrenched (behind the walls in Algeria map) well.... you got the idea.

[PunitorMaximus]

the LIB is now a trench formation, because they always kneel when they´re firing. so greek firethower made them standing when the LIB is activated.
feel free to propose gameplay changes
ah yeah your question...why no mg and arty? well, look at TGW

[ComnenusTheOne]

I am not sure what you mean. To be honest the last TGW experience i had was 2 years ago. Now, we just waaaaaaaaaaaaait and waaaaaaaaaaait and waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaait, until the 5.0 will be released. So to be honest i have no idea whats going on there.

If you talk about models and stuff, a good idea would be to just model them yourself. Dont wait for others to do the job for you.

[PunitorMaximus]

thats an option but until i know how to model guns 5.0 is already released. and b-dizl is working on converting the vickers model.

[ComnenusTheOne]

Oh trust me, i don't believe that. Until 5.0 release, there is enough time to learn to read and write the ancient summerian script.

[MIGLOVER]

Remember to relay on ur self rather than waiting the others Punitor :S i wanna see my SKODA 75 MM gun sorry if i seemed rude ...

[MIGLOVER]

BTW how can i convert models into ETW/NTW ?

[PunitorMaximus]

use the phyton ms3d converter!
unfortunetally i got really much to do at the moment....school you know

[MIGLOVER]

Ok do u have exams if u do then u are just like me well for me the exams will start after 3 to 2 weeks in Syria wait eh? we are getting off topic

[PunitorMaximus]

got a few exams the next weeks.
ya, a lil bit...you´re syrian? you´ve got good relationships or are you just living in a calm region? is the mood really as bad as the media says? sry for being curious

[MIGLOVER]

Yeah i live in a calm region

[PunitorMaximus]

well, as sayed, we´re getting off topic....

[ComnenusTheOne]

Bicheez pleez. Le Comnenus is coming back to break the silence, with photos of a battle between small but glorious SRBIJAAAA and the despicable imperialists of Austria-Hungary.

Here we go.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Dok je Evropa igrala, pevala i krala... mi smo vekove proveli po rovovima, na njihovim granicnim polozajima, kao njihovi psi cuvari!! Gde je sad ta Evropa? Jebo je sveti Jeronim na nebu!!! (While Europe was dancing, singing and robbing... we spend centuries in trenched, in their own borderline positions, as their own dog guardians!! Where is now this Europe? May saint Ieronym her in heaven!!!)




The Serbian forces take positions along the ridge, minor artillery pieces behind.





AustroHungarian forces begin the march across the entire front.




First artillery shots upon the Austrians.... a small part of the hell which is about to follow.



Austrian horsemen ride behind their infantry, their general staff attached to them.



Serbians stand fast as the enemy approaching.



The pounding continues, but unable to stop the Austrian masses from reaching their objective.




The Austrians reach firing range and begin their attack.



Serbs fight back in center and the flanks.



The austrian Gebirsjagern appear through the treeline.... though we will never learn what happened. I got a CTD at that point. Just enjoy the pictures... there will be more.

Srbija danas ima cetiri miliona, a Austro-Ugarska pedeset pet miliona. Godinama prece, godinama seru, kako Srbija mora doziveti celicno kupanje. (Serbia today has four million, and Austria-Hungary fifty five million. For years they threaten us, years they on us, saying Serbia must bathe in steel.)



Ja nikada nista smrdljivije i poganije nisam cuo od pretnje da jedan narod bude okupan celikom. E dacemo im kurac tvrd, i to tvrd sa mnogo godina! (I never heard anything more foul and filthy as a threat, that one nation must be washed in steel. Then we will give them a hard one (meaning dick), and that one for many years!)

[ComnenusTheOne]

And now, and gentlemen, i present you Serbia's biggest ally.... Greece

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Winter 1916, Northern Macedonia (that is somewhere between Kilkis and Petrich, google it).

The Greek Command alongside the French, Serbian, and British allies are pushing back the Bulgarians step by step. After these mountains, the town of Petrich lies, where a large contingent of the Bulgarian Army stands. The Allied Forces send a greek battalion to assault the center and create a corridor towards the town.



The Greek Command takes positions below the ridge. Their numbers are close to 700, and there is an equal number of opposing bulgarian forces. No sign of artillery or cavalry on both sides.



The majority of the greek battalion are conscript, with the exception of two companies of Redshirts, attached to the battalion from the Garibaldini regiment.




The bulgarian forces, alerted by the advance of the greek force, are summing up on the hills, hoping to counterattack the advancing Greeks from the heights of the ridge. Time is crucial.



The Greek Command orders the companies to take positions below the ridge and hope for the best at that moment, hoping to atleast hold the steamroll.




Orders also have been given to "dig in" in treelines or other places of interest.



The Bulgarian Army advances en masse, through the central ridge mostly. Admittedly, that will also be their doom later on.




The Greek Forces begin firing at the enemy as soon as they appear on the lines of sight. First on the greek left flank and the center, then on the right, the Bulgarians are hailed with gunfire.



To which they respond with their own fire, having the numbers and the high grounds they are quick to advance and inflict heavy casualties on the greek center.



More soldiers are rushed to the center in order to face the advancing Bulgarians. Meanwhile, the other fronts go far better for the Greeks.




Reinforments from the left flank with Garibaldini's counterattack and rout the Bulgarians, and then proceed to attack the central ridge, where the main bulk of the bulgarian battalion is located.



In the mean time, the greek center falters yet once more. An other company is ordered to hold the line, although at that point it might be pointless.



Bulgarians are reinforced at the center. If the pincer move of the greek left flank fails, the entire greek battalion might be routed.



Or maybe not. After pushing back the Bulgarians, the greek right flank has taken positions on the ridge above the central line, and can now lay fire upon the still advancing central bulgarian forces.



Greeks and Italians are finishing their pincer move. The Bulgarians are now virtually surrounded.




At the cost of the center though, where two greek companies were annihilated to the last man, yet holding their ground. With the advance of a third company, the Bulgarians turned tail and ran, lest they be overwhelmed and annihilated in the same manner.



The surviving Bulgarians, in column formation, as they try to slip towards the East and get away from the battlefield.





And taken by surprise by the Greeks who held the right flank and had, on their own initiative, moved towards the Bulgarians, hoping to cut them off. Melee ensued for awhile.



Battered and bleeding, the surviving bulgarian company finally retreats. Their leftovers rout towards Petrich, where they will probably unite with the rest of the contingent and plan a counterattack. By that moment though, the Allies will cross the corridor and their artillery will be at striking distance from their major camp.



Victory is ours.... though there will be no celebration tonight.

[PunitorMaximus]

just awesome AARs man!
thank you, what a good advert
any bugs apart from the ing lance one? got difficulties with uploading, cuz the file is so big.
does anyone know a good and fast upload page except filefront?

PS: is there a placard or a photograph of the propaganda sayin "serbia has to be bathed in steel"? would be nice as loading screen verdict
this sounds quite silly.....bathed in steel WTF?

[ComnenusTheOne]

I dont know, the Austrian royalty must have said something like that, but i am not sure about it. Might be most likely the "essense" of the whole Austro-Hungarian diplomacy towards Serbia, watered down into the words passed from officers to soldiers, and stuff like that. The exact sentence is taken by the movie "Saint George kills the dragon" (Sveti Georgije ubiva azdahu).

Now bugs... well except for some visuals (many units have some weird different textures on their knees, kinda separating their trousers into two colors), i havent really seen any bugs that you dont know already. That is, the Lancer bug, and the reloading of the cavalry, which is not so much a bug, as much a lack of animation.

[ComnenusTheOne]

Pour la republique? Biensur....

1914-1915-19something, somewhere on the western front, dont know where, dont care where, watch it.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Alright boys, same scenario as always. A german regiment is marching towards a single british battalion and our french units are to reinforce them and counterattack. Classic, right? Riiight?



Le battallion francais en marche.... that thing.



Le tommies are on the move as well. Their battalion is facing a twice as big german force.




Le huns appear out of the treeline. Their force, except for the german soldiers, also has a large number of colonials from Africa and New Guinea. Same can be said for the British and their respectively colonies.




The battle begins with le Brits and their Indians firing at the enemy first. The French are still far behind the battle, so for now they are on their own.




The Germans manage to successfully assault the Brits on their left flank. Melee ensues, out of which, the british forces come out victorious.




While the african company is holding the german assault back, the french force is advancing to take position. We finally arrived on the battlefield.



German Askaris are advancing towards our positions, and get a greeting of steel...



...together with their newguinean and papuan "comrades".



The french forces rout a cavalry while trying to encircle them from the right flank...




...while the Askaris made slight progress into reaching the lines of the French.



The second german regiment is on the field and begins deployment.



Their assault is not unsimilar to a human wave tactic, a tactic thoroughly enjoyed through the first years of this war. In this case, they attempt to get themselves to firing range and take the French off by sheer number superiority.




In response to that, the French occupy the high grounds in front of them, knowing that taking these small hills will allow them to combat the Germans more effectively.



The same hills the first wave of Germans fell....




Le huns approach, their cavalry trying to outflank the French from the right flank.




Their assault is held back for one more time, by the French, who by that time, have suffered quite some casualties.




The french left flank is also assaulted by the any reserves the German HQ had.




In response to that, the French Command order their algerian platoon to take position on the left flank and support in case of a german pincer move. Some survivors from the british force are joining up as well.



Le tirallieurs algerien are taking down a german platoon.



And the said platoon, feels it to the bone.




As part of the deathblow, both surviving forces are meeting up on the hill, for the killing blow. Germans expecting a melee fight....




....which is not given to them, as the French open fire as soon as they get in sight with the Germans. The few survivors rout disorderly....







The price of victory....

[PunitorMaximus]

i made some small space-saving corrections.