Battle of Aachen Germany Oct 1944 Wargaming Demo 1 R IRISH Junior Officers Capt Marc Barrow Allies Capt Paddy Pratt Capt Steve Maguire Axis Capt Wes Brown Lt Ant Kirkham
Battle of Aachen - Context Battle of Aachen 2-21 Oct 1944 Ruhr Valley
Advanced Squad Leader - Aachen N 300m
Advanced Squad Leader Allies N Axis Task Org 14x 1 st line sect 1x Engr sect 2x MMG 1x Flame Thrower Good C2 Task Orgs 7x 2 nd line sect 4x Conscript sect 3x LMG 1x HMG Weak C2 Victory condition: Allies hold 25 buildings on right map board
Terrain Analysis N Key Terrain Vital Ground
Content Planning Defence back brief Attack back brief Execute AAR Key Lessons Summary
Planning
Axis: Q1 Deductions N 2I 3I 3I Y 2I 3I 1I FT E Y 2I Y Key Deductions Capabilities 1 st line troops, high morale, greater FP & range, greater numbers Organisation Good leaders - impact battle (ID & neutralise C2) Weapons and Equipment 2x MMG & 1x flame thrower key urban wpn system. All units have higher range than def (less HMG) Reinforcements No external reinf expected. Likely to reinforce success Doctrine Use offensive action HVT = Flame Thrower, C2 nodes
Axis: Q2 Key Deductions MSN: DENY 25 bldg hexes on map board Z to Allied forces Shaping: FIND and DISRUPT fwd en elements. ID primary axis of advance. Decisive: DELAY en advance in Centre.) DENY freedom FoM on flanks. Use of reserve to CONTAIN En breakthrough/catk. HOLD MDA. Key Terrain: Forward strongpoint (central cluster of fortified buildings) Vital Ground: Main Defensive Area Space: Ltd with obstacles. Must gain ground iot allow delay. Time: Effective delay crucial to success as Allied advance has time constraint. Resources: Troop quality and quantity outmatched IN FP & range. Wide frontage for coy group flanks vulnerable.
Axis: Intent Schematic 1.FIND/FIX/ DISRUPT 2. DENY/ DELAY 4. DELAY Ser Effect Purpose 1 FIND/FIX/ DISRUPT ID and disrupt En forces as early in the battle as possible. Attempt to ID main axis of advance 2 DENY/ DELAY DENY EN forces FoM over open ground 3. DELAY 3 DELAY Delay approaches through the key terrain. Likely to be resourced heavily by En forces. 5. HOLD 4 DELAY Trade in time for space, forces to move toward MDP/HOLD 5 HOLD MDP/MDA. High concentration of buildings that lend themselves to C Atk opportunities. MSN: HOLD AACHEN (25 buildings) IOT delay/block Allied advance east Intent: FIND and DISRUPT En advanced elements to DELAY approach. DENY En forces freedom of manoeuvre in open ground and DELAY movement through key terrain. HOLD vital ground and BPT C AtK to DELAY & DISRUPT allied forces. All Round Defence Depth Mutual Sp Deception/ Concealment Focus must be west, but some risk can be taken. Must be flexible enough to cope with pressure on the flanks Some risk taken here use of reserve to form part of the depth footer Must for forces around the MDP. Use of Sp wpns to achieve for more isolated units Max use of cover for both positions and movement. Engage HVT as a Pri over normal units Main Effort: ID and DELAY break in force COA Direction: Fwd SCREEN to ID and FIX/DISRUPT. Seek to DELAY in the centre. Must have a reserve capable of reinforcing or launching C Atk. Offensive Action Use of reserves. Reoccupy buildings if possible. Seek to CAtk in the HOLD phase Reserves Must be central and have sufficient FP and numbers to offer a credible CAtk force.
Axis: Ops Schematic N 22I N D C2I 22I N C2I 22I C2 O Node 22I C2I C2 Node N C2 22I Node 22I 22I C2I C2I C2 Node HOLD
Allies: Q1 Deductions Capabilities 2 nd Line troops and conscripts. Brittle leaders. Organisation Poor, leaders have ltd impact and have to cover a dispersed force Weapons and Equipment 1 x HMG and 3 x LMG Reinforcements likely to maintain a CAtck force/reserve Doctrine DAMROD HVT = HMG/LMG and C2 Nodes 22I 22I C2 Node N C2I 22I 22I C2 Node 22I C2I 22I C2 Node N
Allied: Q2 Key Deductions CONTROL 25 bldg hexes on map board Z Shaping: Dominate AA IOT STC FEINT, NEUTRALISE, SEIZE Decisive: PENETRATE KT infiltrate flanks, Key Terrain = central FLET PENETRATE IOT CLEAR/HOLD S AACHEN Vital Ground Central AACHEN (largest cluster) = ME Space: Ltd space with obstacles. BSM to deconflict AA. Time: Gain foothold in S AACHEN. Rapid Rate of Advance. BPT EXPLOIT success Maintenance of manoeuvre Risks: Heavily fortified KT EXPLOIT flanks. CONPLAN for infil of flanks. N flank remains FIXed Task Org: Provide FEs to enable break in N or S.
Allied: Intent Schematic N 2. FEINT 5.CLEAR/HOLD N Ser Effect Purpose 1 FIND ID EF fwd posns and MDAs IOT facilitate FF manoeuvre 2 FEINT DECEIVE EF IOT FIX N EF Group 3. PENETRATE 3 PENETRATE IOT DISRUPT and CLEAR EF ID d in key terrain and SECURE foothold into Central AACHEN 4 CLEAR/HOLD S Secure buildings in Central AACHEN DENY EF FoM 5 CLEAR/HOLD N Secure N avenues of approach in N AACHEN IOT DENY EF FoM MSN: HOLD AACHEN (25 buildings) 4. CLEAR/HOLD S Intent: Conduct FEINT along N axis DECEIVING EF. Concentrate firepower to PENETRATE key terrain along central axis CLEARing advanced EF. Manoeuvre along S axis and gain foothold enabling CLEAR/HOLD of S AACHEN. Main Effort: SEIZE S COA Direction: PENETRATE along central AA BPT EXPLOIT N and S flanks. CLEAR and HOLD Blds in S sector. BPT DISRUPT EF CAtk Surprise Security Seize Key Terrain Concentration of Fire Manoeuvre Exploit Success Covered approaches through buildings FEINT to enhance surprise Maximize fire base to NEUTRALISE defenders Covered approaches footer Groupings given clear objectives and LOEs Central firebase to enable PENETRATE/CLEAR of KT SW to enable manoeuvre FT used in close combat Rapid rate of advance to push back defenders. BPT to take risk to maintain momentum Reserve forces to reinforce success
Allied: Ops Schematic N 2I O C2 Node 2I O 2I 2I C2 Node 2I E C2 Node FT 2I Y 2I C
Execute
N Allied Initial Actions
N Allied break-in and Axis response
Allied attack fixed N X
After Action Review Lessons Learnt Depth & mutual support in defence Failure to exploit Effective use of reserves
N Depth and Mutual Support
N Failure to Exploit
N Effective Use of Reserves
Utility of war gaming Time: Learning the rules Playing the game Complexity Playing the game Disadvantages Advantages Planning: Application of 7Qs Adversarial nature Execution: Adversarial nature Validate the plan Dynamic decision making (Res) Career & professional development Recommendations Simplification: Current wpns/troops Complex rules time to learn/play Different target levels: Sub unit & BGHQ Dedicated trg time (CPX)
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