Close Combat: The Longest Day Campaign Thread

**ObKrieger** · 10-21-2012, 01:05 AM

The 6th Airborne took the Merville battery, hopefully before the game allows the Germans to have artillery support at Sword Beach. If these guns are able to fire on Sword Beach, then it would be, as the British say, 'curtains' for the British 3rd I.D.

**ObKrieger** · 10-21-2012, 01:30 AM

Sword Beach went incredibly well for a few reasons:

1. The Merville Battery had been secured, preventing the Germans from being able to fire artillery upon the beach.
2. My naval bombardment luckily struck all of the German strong points, eliminating German MG positions and creating a lot of German casualties.
3. The lack of MG and artillery fire allowed my engineers to clear paths through the minefields, which allowed my Shermans to roll inland pretty much unopposed.
4. Whatever Germans that were left were terrified of my Sherman hoarde, and fled.

So, my casualties were only caused by sporadic mortar fire and the occasional inland firefight.

Lance Corporal Lumbly, a loader and MG gunner in a DD Sherman, earned the Military Medal after he was credited with 3 acts of bravery and 11.5 kills.

**ObKrieger** · 10-21-2012, 01:40 AM

Pegasus Bridge has been secured! Ostbattailon 642 attempted a counterattack, but quickly fled after my Vickers .303's opened up on them. Those MG's aren't going to be able to stop the tanks of the 21st Panzer Division though...

**ObKrieger** · 10-21-2012, 01:50 AM

The 8th Brigade of the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division landed at Juno Beach, and I took heavier losses than I have at any of the other sectors. The Germans here were particularly well-armed, and their PaK43's destroyed one and damaged a couple of my Shermans before I could get them off of the beach. With my tanks rushing inland, they didn't have time to suppress the MG positions that ripped some of my squads apart. A naval barrage took care of the guns, and I managed to take the beach, but not without some losses.

**ObKrieger** · 10-21-2012, 01:58 AM

The 'Sherman Hoarde' tactic worked for me again at Gold Beach. In reality, I need to be saving these tanks for the hedgerows, but I feel like they aren't going to be of much use inland with the way I play.

For whatever reason, the Germans love to take out my British and Canadian lieutenants early...

**ObKrieger** · 10-21-2012, 02:03 AM

That concludes the early morning of June 6th. All of the beaches have been secured, and the paratroopers have accomplished all of their objectives. Now I must get my tanks to Caen and Pegasus Bridge to fight off the 21st Panzer Division, while my U.S. forces work their way eastwards along the coast.

Casualties as of the morning of June 6th:

Germany:
279 KIA, 275 Wounded, 1 Tank Destroyed, 18 AT Guns Destroyed

Allies:
143 KIA, 129 Wounded, 4 Tanks Destroyed/Damaged, 1 AT Gun Destroyed

**ObKrieger** · 10-21-2012, 07:41 AM

Easy Red sector of Omaha Beach

The 18th Regiment of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division successfully cleared the area, attack the German widerstandsnester from the rear. The hedgerows provide great flanking opportunities, which is exactly what I used to get rid of the MG's still firing on the beach.

**ObKrieger** · 10-21-2012, 08:05 AM

I moved the 115th Regiment of the 29th I.D. inland towards the area of Formigny, where they have engaged the German 352. Infanterie Division. This was a particularly nasty engagement, with 10 KIA and an immobilized tank. The Germans had most of their defenses set up around the bridge to Longueville. With an MG42 around every corner and hedgerow, it was hard to send a squad through and not expect at least one casualty from it.

**ObKrieger** · 10-21-2012, 08:16 AM

Sword Beach is secure. The Germans attempted a little counterattack, which failed miserably at the hands of my Sherman hoarde. The Brits are moving inland!

**ObKrieger** · 10-21-2012, 08:39 AM

The 231st Brigade of the British 50th Division reached Bayeaux to engage Grenadier-Regiment 915 of the 352. Infanterie Division. This was a nasty fight as well, with hardened German fuesilier defending every street. A few interesting things happened with this fight:

1. My 3 inch mortar teams destroyed a Pak 43 and then immobilized a StuG III. The StuG III was a turretless assault gun, which means that it was unable to turn to the side when one of my Shermans rolled up on it.
2. The Sherman blasted the StuG apart, killing the commander and leaving the other three crew members to surrender.
3. In support of said Sherman, I sent a rifle team and a Bren team into the tall houses along the street to clear out any anti-tank threats. By the time they got rid of all of the Germans in the houses, there were only two men left. These two men held out against German reinforcements, allowing the Sherman to creep up on the StuG. I would have given both of these men the Victoria Cross! Kudos to Sergeant Garrett and Lance Corporal Burnett...