AAR: The Dirty Patricia's

[Aeraaa]

In this scenario, I command elements of the 4th Canadian Mechanized Battlegroup (4th CMBG) with the mission of deploying around the town of Buchhoven and prevent any attempt by the opposing Czech forces from seizing it, or bypassing it. I will receive reinforcements of a mechanized company+a tank platoon later on.
The map of the area is the following. The size of the battlefield is 160*180 hexes.




The town of Buchhoven is the largest one in the center-west part of the map. It has three other villages in front of it which are (from north to south): Ottmaring, Mandorf and Kirchdorf bei Osterhoven. These urban areas are ideal for defending the objective, since I can deploy infantry there and they will be quite hard to dislodge. Per briefing, Czechs will have no air or artillery support which makes holding these areas even more vital.
My forces are deployed as following:




1-Canadian force composed of the HQ, one mechanized infantry platoon, two recon platoons one mortar section and one AT section. Their mission is to dash towards Mandorf (6) and take positions there. The HQ and the mortars will deploy to Buchhoven at (3)
2 and 3-Two wing forces composed of two scout platoons and one AT section each. The northern one (2) will go past Koningswold and take positions around Ottmaring (4). The southern one (3) will defend around Kirchdorf bei Osterhoven (7).
5-These positions offer good fields of fire and the plan is to be occupied by TOW platforms.
8-This position is important to be occupied to protect against any southern flanking actions.

My force is quite light but mobile. Because of that, I hope that I will be able to rush towards my objectives and consolidate some kind of defense before the enemy comes towards me. The enemy is reported to be a mechanized battalion and a recon battalion strong.

[Aeraaa]

Turns 1-10



The first Czech units appear and much faster than I anticipated. To the north at (1), a force of two Czech mech infantry platoons (oen in BMPs, one in OT-64s) appears and clashes with the northernmost company. The Canadians use their Cougar LAVs skillfully and these vehicles, coupled with dismounted scouts firing small arms, as well as mortar fire, proves too much for the Czechs to handle. All enemy vehicles are destroyed and the remnants of the Czech infantry retreat in disarray.

Further south, Czech scout vehicles, as well as a tank destroyer platoon of BRDM-2 Malyutka vehicles, attempt to push through (2). Their advance is slowed down by Canadian vehicle fire and mortar harassing fire.

At Mandorf (3), Czech recon forces battle with Canadian scouts and dismounted mechanized infantry. They only make limited advances and suffer heavy losses in the urban environment.

At Kirchdorf bei Osterhoven (4), Czech mechanized infantry is ambushed by Canadian recce and suffers heavy losses. T-72s arrive to aid. The T-72 force, when it’s located at (5), spots my flank guard at (6). One T-72 fires two shots and knocks out one Grizzly APC.

So far the Canadians hold on the forward most positions but they need to be reinforced. One unfortunate side effect of the Czech rapid advance, is that I could not deploy my ATGM vehicles too far forward and thus, two M-113 with TOWs and two similarly armed Jeeps deploy in the main objective of Buchhoven. Their goal is to snipe at any vehicles trying to push through the forward villages.

[Aeraaa]

Turns 11-18




At turn 10, the Canadian reinforcements arrive at (1). They are one mechanized infantry company, one more M-113/TOW TD section and one Leopard C1 tank platoon. Since the Czechs mostly push towards the centre and the south, I decide to send them southwards and behind Buchhoven, so as to be used as my main reserve and to commit them at the right time. When the company marched south, the Czech ATGM platoon opened fire from (3). The result is the tank platoon commander’s tank being knocked out, although no casualties were produced. As a result, my forces had to halt their advance temporarily, while I also decide to keep one of the mechanized platoons behind, so as to have an uncommitted reserve. To deal with the threat at (3), Canadian mortars fire a combination of HE and smoke shells. The TDs are temporarily neutralized and the advance of the column may continue.

To the south at (4), Czech T-72s supported by infantry advance. Inside the village, Czech force advances through, but with heavy casualties from Carl Gustav teams and LAVs ambushing them. Cougar LAVs prove to be a good match for the Czech T-72s when they can ambush them and hit their sides and rear.

A T-72 platoon can be seen advancing across (6). 5-Canadian TDs have a good field of fire from there and knock out several tanks and APCs that try to use the road. It seems that my TDs are much better positioned than I though and, despite the woods in front of the Czech vehicles, there are enough openings to be effective.

Finally, a T-72CZ company is spotted moving towards the centre from (1). Czechs sure do have enough tanks.

So far, things look great. My TDs halt any attempt of Czech armor to really make a difference, while my dug in scouts and infantry prove to be a real threat inside urban areas. The bad news is the fact that I lost a tank for no real reason, my reinforcements getting slowed, and that the Czechs look to have more strength than I anticipated.

[Aeraaa]

Turns 19-28



As the battle really rages on, I decide to use the M113 platoon I had in reserve at (1), their goal is to flank the Czech forces from the north. But before I do that, I have to neutralize the BRDM-2 ATGMs at (3). This is achieved by a heroic Carl Gustav team that, aided by mortar fire, comes close to the two surviving vehicles and knocks them out quickly. They receive some small arms fire, but they survive unscathed. After that, the M113s move forward. One of the vehicles is knocked out by a T-72 firing from the centre, but otherwise their maneuver is successful and they occupy the crossroads at (2).

The Leopard platoon and two mechanized platoons at (4) move forward to reinforce the defenders of Mandorf at (5) where the fiercest combat ensues. The TD line at Buchhoven aids them. They have shot so many ATGMs that the Canadians called this town after the battle as the “TOWville”. In the end, no Czech armor can move safely from Kirchdorf bei Osterhoven to reinforce the attack at Mandorf. The Leopards also help by firing on the move. When they eventually arrive, the infantry dismounts and works in close cooperation with the tanks. The Czech in the meantime, manage to capture the centre of Mandorf, after fierce fighting with the defending scouts and infantry. They lose many AFVs, but the Canadian defenders are exhausted and suffered very heavy losses. They have almost no portable AT weapons and even the surviving Cougars are out of HESH shells. So the arrival of the reinforcements was just in time. Despite the augmentation of the Canadian forces, the Czech cannot be dislodged from the town by the end of the scenario and thus, Mandorf remains contested.

The final Canadian maneuver is the motorized infantry platoon at (6) that held the flank, which is called to aid in recapturing Kirchdorf bei Osterhoven. The arrive at the village, where they find one immobilized T-72 at (7). After two LAW shots, the tank is destroyed, and the centre of the village can be captured. The Czechs counterattack with infantry, but the Canadians prove to be tough nuts to crack and they hold their objective.

[Aeraaa]

Aftermath



Equipment losses:

Canada

1 Leopard C1 MBT
3 Cougar LAVs
4 Grizzly APCs
1 M-113 APC

Czechoslovakia

28 T-72 MBTs
23 OT-64 SKOT APCs
2 PLDvK vz. 53/59 SPAAGs
3 OT-65 FUG scout cars
14 BRDM scout cars
3 BRDM-2 Malyutka tank destroyers
16 BVP-1 IFVs

Result is a marginal victory. Canadians held their forward objectives and even managed to outflank the Czech forces. What saved the Czechs from total defeat is the fact that they did held a part of Mandorf and that Canadian had relatively high losses, especially among the infantry.

In general, things went quite well, from the beginning to the end of the scenario. There were very few times were I was unpleasantly surprised and the consequences were not that great. My decision to deploy the ATGM vehicles at Bucchoven when it was clear that I did not have enough time to do so further forward was correct, as any vehicle that tried to move around the villages in the forward lines was knocked out (also helped by the fact that most Czech tanks moved from south to middle, exposing their side armor to the TOWs). Also helpful was the deployment of Canadian infantry and dismounted scouts in urban areas, save for the TOWs they were the main cause of tank losses among the Czechs. My reinforcements did help in consolidating the line and outflanking the Czech, but otherwise did not do anything more flashy. It still bother me that I couldn't recapture Mandorf. My flank guards did little fighting and it was this reason that I decided to move one of them forwards to help. My mortars did well, using their HE shells and smoke quite efficiently. In the end, I’d say that the main problem for the Czechs was the lack of artillery; without it, my infantry was a real pain to dislodge (although casualties in them were quite terrible) and my ATGM line could fire without having to move (I mean, it’s the first time that my ATGM jeeps are not simple glass cannons, but they actually survived the battle; one of them had 8 AFV kills, which is I think a personal record!)

Final map is the following:




All in all, a fun scenario and I thank Grant1pa for the design.