Strategic map of Sicily starting frame 3. Acutally, a4 had vehicles disabled as well.
After-Action Report
III/KG 30
6/23/2007
by Brooke, GL, III/KG 30
This was a scenario that ran in the multiplayer on-line air-combat simulation Aces High.
III/KG 30 consisted of me (Brooke), 1ijac, DeadCow, Daubie, Cooley, Alverca1, PSDeth7, Skinner, Tull, Hitch, Jappa52, Patriot0, Nerdicus, and Tudza. In this one, KG 30 was asked for three volunteers to be in ground vehicles, and Nerdicus, Tudza, and I were those volunteers. The rest of the guys were to be in Bf 109G-2's. I asked 1ijac to take over control of III/KG 30 in the air.
Here's how things were starting for the axis strategically in Sicily.
Strategic map of Sicily starting frame 3. Acutally, a4 had vehicles disabled
as well.
Gaidin was not able to show up until just after takeoff, so he asked me to get things going at launch. I asked Gruppo 9 (in their C.205's) to cover A4, Schg2 (in their FW 190A-5's) to cover A22, JG53 (in their Bf 109G-6's) to cover a11, ZG1 (in their Bf 110G-2's and Bf 109G-2's) to cover v13, and KG30 (in their Bf 109G-2's) to cover v19/a18 area. I figured the allies would hit the a4 area first, as it was closest and they could get C-47's there before any of our fighters would arrive.
Gaidin showed up shortly before or after takeoff, so he resumed command as planned right away, and I was off to my duty in ground vehicles.
In Panzer IV's for the axis, there was me, Nerdicus, Tudza, TBolt, and Winzig. I went for a4, Tudza for a22, Nerdicus for a11, Winzig for v12, and TBolt for v13 (driving there from the NW spawn from v12). The folks at vehicle bases were to destroy ord, fuel, and radar to create fire and smoke (if needed) and hide in that. The folks at airbases were to destroy a town building and get in there. There is almost nowhere to hide in Sicily -- it's open, scrubby desert-like terrain.
I was worried about getting to a4 before enemy planes, as it takes 13 minutes to drive from a22 spawn to a4, and it takes a Spit V 11 minutes to get there from Malta.
Me, racing past a4 airfield (which is mostly destroyed from frame 2) to a4 town
in my Panzer IV.
I'm racing by the map room, and my destination hiding place is the destroyed
rectangular building to my 11 o'clock.
I made it to the town and into my hiding place before any enemy showed up. Then I destroyed the buildings immediately adjacent so that I wouldn't get killed if the allies bombed them.
Here's a view of me in my hiding spot. This hiding spot at least conceals my
big red icon from some directions, but not all. That's the best we can do.
Now I'm in my hiding spot with field of fire over the map room.
Now I was in my hiding spot. It's not great, as enemy planes searching for you will find you here, but it at least is less obvious than being totally out in the open. I had a good field of fire on the map room. Almost as soon as I was settled, a4 started to flash, and I thought, "Here they come!" It turned out to be a lone enemy C-47 dropping troops on a4 town, which still had buildings up. So, we figured it was just a feint.
The enemy C-47 flying by overhead after it dropped troops.
I waited here. The allies attacked the middle coast and also the western part of Sicily, out where III/KG 30 was originally ordered to go. Gruppo 9 overhead stayed on station for a long time, and then I think they eventually went west to help out. I stayed in my hiding spot, waiting for when we'd need C-47's. It was too hard to move around to different places in vechicles, as the allies had destroyed (and were continuing to destroy) too many vehicle hangars. Also, as we feared, vechicles weren't faring well. They were too easy to spot and to kill with a single bomb.
Winzig did his best at v12, but was bombed and killed. He came up again to help protect v19 and v20, but got bombed and killed there, too. He provided some good intelligence early on. TBolt lived for a while at v13, repelled a couple of take-over attempts (which was awesome work on his part), but was eventually killed and then killed again. Nerdicus stayed at a11 but eventually got killed by a TBM bomb without getting to repel any troops. Tudza stuck it out at a22 the whole game, and a22 was not captured.
At about the 1.25-1.5 hour mark, I exited a4 and got ready to launch a C-47, but someone hopped in one at the same field (a11 at that point). No need to send two right next to each other, as if one gets spotted and shot down, the other will, too. I instead went to man field guns here and there and to check the coast in shore batteries, as the allies had fleets off the coast near v12 and v13 about this time. During one attack on a base, I think I shot down a TBM from my ground gun.
I was trying to get status of a24 and v21 to see if they got deacked or not. We had a C-47 on the way already to v12. Once v21 was reported deacked, I took off in a C-47 from a23 and tried to coordinate a recapture attempt on it. Mipoikel had deacked v20 and v21, and I was trying to get two fighters to meet me at v17 and escort me in. 4510 in his FW 190A-5 met me at v17, but after about 15 minutes of trying, I wasn't able to find any other fighter that could join us. So, I met him near v17 and then continued NW a little, then W to come at v21 or v20 from the north. As we flew along, we decided v20 would be a better choice because it was more interior to the enemy's positions. I really wished we had been able to get two fighters, as I would have asked one to go flash v21 while I and another continued to v20. As we flew along, I suggested that we get up another C-47 to start heading to v21 in the meantime, but I'm not sure if anyone launched a C-47 for that.
Once I was NE of v20, I put my C-47 into a descent and approached v20 at about 300 mph to get there quickly from out of range (to minimize the time the base would be flashing). As I approached the base, it looked clear.
My view as I descend toward v20. Looks clear!
I came in at about 900 ft and dropped my troops right over the map room, and it still looked clear.
Dropping over the map room (which is the mound in the lower right of picture,
just below the burning fuel depot).
I headed out of the area, and the troops were quickly down and running. That's when mipoikel warned of an enemy fighter. 4510 hadn't seen him approaching. The enemy Hurricane shot him down, dove on the running troops, and shot some of them before they could get into the map room.
The enemy Hurricane (bottom left of image) shooting at troops.
We had come so agonizingly close to capturing this base, and there was not enough time for me to try again unless there was some other team in the area that had taken off after me, perhaps for v21. I ran from the area, figuring the Hurricane would be busy with the troops for a while, but a P-38G came running in before I got too far and shot me down.
The last moments in a doomed mission as my C-47 disintegrates under gunfire
from an attacking P-38G.
Now there wasn't much time left. I still had one life left, so I launched another C-47 from a23. I figured I could make it to the closest enemy base, which was a11. One C-47 went for v12 and was killed. Nerdicus in a C-47 got killed going into the a11/v12 area as well. I was now the third going in. I called on the radio the whole time that I was going in there, so folks would know we had C-47's on the way. As I got closer, though, I asked if it had been deacked, and someone replied that it hadn't. Well, I wouldn't be able to do anything there then. I got the field in sight and continued in just to see if it was clear -- maybe we could get some people in there to deack. But as I drew close, I could see enemy bogies, and just veered off. And that was the end of the frame.
A view out my cockpit as I veer off of A11, which is visible burning bottom
left of picture. The faint black specs right of a11 are bogies in the area.
In the end, the allies captured many bases, and we didn't capture much at all back from them.
The allies own all the orange bases; the axis owns all the green bases
I feel that I performed poorly in this one. This was the most-frustrating, most-infuriating time I've had in a scenario in a long time -- probably since the mid 1990's (actually, the Air Warrior version of this same battle, Sicily, '43). It's because everything I picked to do didn't amount to much, and thus I feel that I didn't help out our side much or contribute enough to our side's organization in this frame.
Salute, allies. You executed very well and shut us down in frame 3.
Many thanks to Nerdicus, Tudza, TBolt, and Winzig who volunteered for this very difficult duty in ground vehicles. You guys did a great job, and I'm really sorry how it turned out in ground vehicles.
by Brooke P. Anderson
e-mail: brooke@electraforge.com
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