Post by insterburger on Nov 10, 2013 16:35:07 GMT -5
Another excellent event at the NJ field. Numbers were up from last time, and will hopefully keep growing. It's a great field, the action was awesome, and the price simply can't be beat. All NE WWII airsofters need to keep this field in mind-- it's much closer than you think!
Anyway, on to the AAR:
AFTER ACTION REPORT, "WESTWALL" ENGAGEMENT, 11-9-44
ALLIED FORCES:
5 Soldiers, mostly Airborne/Rangers with support from local French resistance.
GERMAN FORCES:
4 Soldiers, mix of SS and Heer, under SS command. Reinforced by Volkssturm soldier in late action.
The day dawned cool and crisp, with American infantry elements trying to dislodge German units around Aachen and put themselves into position to menace the formidable "Westwall" defense of the Reich. The Allies were chomping at the bit to move East into Germany. The Germans had no intentions of letting the Yankees set foot in their homeland.
The first action of the morning saw an American reconaissance-in-force drive through the forests of the Haute Fagnes to flush out German reistance there. A German unit was engaged, and despite heavy return fire, Allied forces were able to roll up the left flank of the poorly deployed German force and rout them. A costly tactical lesson had been learned, and the rest of the morning would not go so well for the Allies.
In the next action, the Allied commander was given a tough decision to make: He was expected to hold the small village his men had liberated, while also being ordered to flush out Germans from the surrounding woods. Shaking his head at disgust at the Generals who issue orders without thinking about how guys like him are supposed to carry them out, he set about his task nonetheless. While the bulk of the American force held the village, a small patrol was sent out to feel out the enemy. In a bold move, the German commander ordered one Landser to make a strong feint to the Allied rear. After a wide encircling move, he launched a very noisy "attack" on the left rear flank of the American village, complete with smoke grenades and command whistles. While this false attack did not entirely fool the Allies, it did serve as enough of a distraction to allow German forces to advance more strongly on the main front of assault. While the Allies were busy with the brunt of the German assault, the German feinting force then came around to the exposed rear of the Allied village and rushed it singlehandedly, killing two of the three remaining defenders before falling himself. American resistance was broken, German forces entered the village, and the Landser posthumously received the E.K.2. for his valor in action (the award certificate was sent to his family's last known address in Berlin, unfortunately now a pile of rubble due to Allied bombing).
The next action resulted in yet another German victory. Told to take a village occupied by the Germans, Allied troops advanced cautiously on the town, where the Nazi flag still flew proudly. The Allies advanced on opposite flanks, not knowing that the town itself had been abandoned, with German units taking defensive positions on the right and left rear flanks. The Allied force on the right flank briefly entered the village before falling afoul of well-camouflaged German positions, while those on the right were eliminated by the other German contingent after a fierce firefight in which the young SS commander especially distinguished himself. German forces could scarcely believe they had eliminated all Allied units in the area, and spent a few fruitless minutes calling out for other Allied soldiers to surrender. With only one casualty, the Germans re-entered the village with their most decisive victory of the day.
In the final action of the morning, a communications failure in the German chain of command led to an essentially unopposed Allied victory in a fight to secure assets from an abandoned village.
With the Allied supply lines broken, and only cold Spam on hand, the Allied forces "liberated" some of the good German rations that the local SS commander had stockpiled, so lunch was enjoyed by all.
In the afternoon, Allied and Axis forces fought over a series of unsecured supply objectives (capture the flag), after which the assets had to be defended from an all-out enemy assault. Reinforcements arrived for both sides: Fresh troops (OK, a fresh troop) from the rear for the Allies, and an experienced and fiercely determined Volkssturm soldier for the Germans (Thanks, Nate!). In all encounters, the Allies were able to secure and effectively defend the assets. Fighting with true elan, the Americans captured the assets repeatedly, and doggedly defended their fire base from repeated, brutal German assualts. With neither side equipped for effective night fighting, the final action of the day led to a cessation of hostilites due to nightfall. Axis power was neutralized in the Haute Fagnes. Next stop: Germany.
All in all, and taking into account the relative sizes of the forces, the day amounted to a draw. The morning, by and large, belonged to the Germans, while the Allies clearly owned the afternoon. Most importantly, a good time was had by all. Things bode well for the future at this field, those who have been at one of the events there already know it's a great field with lots of natural AND man-made cover, with lots of interesting terrain that poses difficulties and opportunities depending on the action (as any good field should). For those who haven't yet attended an event here-- COME ON DOWN!
Anyway, on to the AAR:
AFTER ACTION REPORT, "WESTWALL" ENGAGEMENT, 11-9-44
ALLIED FORCES:
5 Soldiers, mostly Airborne/Rangers with support from local French resistance.
GERMAN FORCES:
4 Soldiers, mix of SS and Heer, under SS command. Reinforced by Volkssturm soldier in late action.
The day dawned cool and crisp, with American infantry elements trying to dislodge German units around Aachen and put themselves into position to menace the formidable "Westwall" defense of the Reich. The Allies were chomping at the bit to move East into Germany. The Germans had no intentions of letting the Yankees set foot in their homeland.
The first action of the morning saw an American reconaissance-in-force drive through the forests of the Haute Fagnes to flush out German reistance there. A German unit was engaged, and despite heavy return fire, Allied forces were able to roll up the left flank of the poorly deployed German force and rout them. A costly tactical lesson had been learned, and the rest of the morning would not go so well for the Allies.
In the next action, the Allied commander was given a tough decision to make: He was expected to hold the small village his men had liberated, while also being ordered to flush out Germans from the surrounding woods. Shaking his head at disgust at the Generals who issue orders without thinking about how guys like him are supposed to carry them out, he set about his task nonetheless. While the bulk of the American force held the village, a small patrol was sent out to feel out the enemy. In a bold move, the German commander ordered one Landser to make a strong feint to the Allied rear. After a wide encircling move, he launched a very noisy "attack" on the left rear flank of the American village, complete with smoke grenades and command whistles. While this false attack did not entirely fool the Allies, it did serve as enough of a distraction to allow German forces to advance more strongly on the main front of assault. While the Allies were busy with the brunt of the German assault, the German feinting force then came around to the exposed rear of the Allied village and rushed it singlehandedly, killing two of the three remaining defenders before falling himself. American resistance was broken, German forces entered the village, and the Landser posthumously received the E.K.2. for his valor in action (the award certificate was sent to his family's last known address in Berlin, unfortunately now a pile of rubble due to Allied bombing).
The next action resulted in yet another German victory. Told to take a village occupied by the Germans, Allied troops advanced cautiously on the town, where the Nazi flag still flew proudly. The Allies advanced on opposite flanks, not knowing that the town itself had been abandoned, with German units taking defensive positions on the right and left rear flanks. The Allied force on the right flank briefly entered the village before falling afoul of well-camouflaged German positions, while those on the right were eliminated by the other German contingent after a fierce firefight in which the young SS commander especially distinguished himself. German forces could scarcely believe they had eliminated all Allied units in the area, and spent a few fruitless minutes calling out for other Allied soldiers to surrender. With only one casualty, the Germans re-entered the village with their most decisive victory of the day.
In the final action of the morning, a communications failure in the German chain of command led to an essentially unopposed Allied victory in a fight to secure assets from an abandoned village.
With the Allied supply lines broken, and only cold Spam on hand, the Allied forces "liberated" some of the good German rations that the local SS commander had stockpiled, so lunch was enjoyed by all.
In the afternoon, Allied and Axis forces fought over a series of unsecured supply objectives (capture the flag), after which the assets had to be defended from an all-out enemy assault. Reinforcements arrived for both sides: Fresh troops (OK, a fresh troop) from the rear for the Allies, and an experienced and fiercely determined Volkssturm soldier for the Germans (Thanks, Nate!). In all encounters, the Allies were able to secure and effectively defend the assets. Fighting with true elan, the Americans captured the assets repeatedly, and doggedly defended their fire base from repeated, brutal German assualts. With neither side equipped for effective night fighting, the final action of the day led to a cessation of hostilites due to nightfall. Axis power was neutralized in the Haute Fagnes. Next stop: Germany.
All in all, and taking into account the relative sizes of the forces, the day amounted to a draw. The morning, by and large, belonged to the Germans, while the Allies clearly owned the afternoon. Most importantly, a good time was had by all. Things bode well for the future at this field, those who have been at one of the events there already know it's a great field with lots of natural AND man-made cover, with lots of interesting terrain that poses difficulties and opportunities depending on the action (as any good field should). For those who haven't yet attended an event here-- COME ON DOWN!