Very cool! Though hopefully that's not a meeting that ended in collision
***
And here below I'll post a sort of AAR/screenshot log of my recent foray into the just-released CMRT (Combat Mission: Red Thunder) - which by the way is excellent and even in my first few missions has resulted in some of the most intense and nail-biting action I've ever had in a CM game. It's been violent and unforgiving - I'm not a reckless player, but assaulting a well-prepared German defense line with a battalion of lightly-supported infantry is a difficult proposition. Even though much of the attack successfully flanked and hit German positions from the rear, the fighting still amounted to largely human wave assaults. At the end of the battle, only 59% of Soviet troops that started the fight walked away from the battle - 41% of the battalion (or 267 of the total 649 troops) were casualties. Things were even worse for the Germans though, with 82% of their soldiers dead or badly wounded by the end of the fight. In the end, Soviet forces won, and I give you...
SOVIET ASSAULT
June 23rd, 1944 - Orsha region of Belarus
After crossing the Sukhodrovka river without resistance, the Soviet troops stop at the edge of the woods and swamps, looking for the German troops. There is only sporadic fire from the enemy positions in the first few minutes of the battle.
The soldiers and a company of supporting SU-76 self-propelled guns pull up to the edge of the woods, probing the enemy position
For the Motherland!
The 3rd and 2nd companies of the 1st battalion, 167th Guards Regiment, follow the scouting sappers into the forest, having already checked for enemy mines along the treeline.
At last, the first line of German defenses reveal themselves, dug in along the southern flank of the advance. The Germans are well-prepared for the Soviet attack...
....well, most of them
Hey.. what did you say, Fritz? I can't hear you!
What do you mean "Ivan"? Where? I don't see any Russians...
With support from the SU-76 guns, 2nd and 3rd company quickly clear the first line of German trenches with relatively few casualties. The Germans are quickly sent packing...
However, a few hundred meters further, the 2nd line of defenses is far better fortified, built around 3 positions of reinforced wooden bunkers and AT guns like these.
Soldiers of the 3rd company move up as MG teams suppress the enemy strong point.
With the 1st company held back, 2nd and 3rd companies have already pushed in and probed these positions along the far southern flank. It is therefore decided that rather than advancing through open ground at the center, we'll try to flank them through the woods. 3rd company will pin the German position with fire across a swampy pond on the side, while 2nd company will sneak up through the woods to their rear.
Meanwhile, 1st company scouts do some recon along the open ground in the center.
Craters left by the 300mm Katyusha rocket bombardment prove to be good cover for a whole infantry squad!
The scouts quickly discover an even bigger strong point in the center, and are forced to quickly fall back to the craters by heavy fire and casualties.
A squad of 3rd company's AT rifles take a break in the recently-occupied German forward trench
Soon, things start getting ugly, though. On the edge of the woods, 3rd company come under heavy and accurate mortar fire. 30 casualties are inflicted in the space of a couple of minutes - among the killed is the company's commander.
But our Soviet scouts won't be outdone - they quickly return the favour by directing accurate mortar fire to suppress the enemy position at the center.
Despite all the fireworks, though, the position remains largely intact...
...and continues firing. Accurate fire from an enemy 75mm AT gun, along with mine fields, deny the forward troops some of their direct fire support.