Why strong recon is vital: AAR of "Guardian Angels" Steel Beasts Pro

 

It is undoubtedly now a tired cliché to say no plan survives first contact with the enemy. I view it largely as an empty platitude, so often misunderstood by those who repeat it. The famous Eisenhower quote which states planning is everything (that is, reductively, the important part of that nugget of wisdom) is much more accurate a statement. It is trite to say that good planning requires good intelligence, and intelligence gathering occurs right down until a unit has crossed its line of departure, and so often further beyond. When you lack a robust appreciation of what is in front of you it is almost impossible to make an effective plan. Yet you must, because when you are leading from the saddle your ability to command multiple callsigns is, realistically, nill. So you plan based on assumptions and backwards thinking (i.e.: 'what would I do if I had what I think he has?'). These are useful exercises in any event, but when done in an information vacuum can lead to extreme strain and difficulty.

Which is why I thought it would be a good excuse to share my experience playing the scenario Guardian Angels in Steel Beasts Professional. The premise is that the recce that is meant to develop a picture of the enemy to your front was forced to retreat due to losses from the enemy screen. Asides from the knowledge that they took fire from enemy tanks, information on what you can expect is essentially non-existent. 

So that's where things stand as D Squadron, Kings Royal Hussars ("KRH") form up in their initial assembly area. 

Briefing

1. Situation

Friendly forces from the 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade Combat Team are preparing to conduct their attack along Highway 252 to seize critical bridges at Grossenmarpe. The enemy in Grossenmarpe is estimated as Battalion-strength, however, we are only expecting a MECH COY in our sector which is serving as a flank protection force. We anticipate encoutering enemy recon forces between Phase Line ARRAN and BADGET, with the most probable enemy defensive positions near the town of Kleinemarpe. Friendly scouts made contact in Bruntrup last night but were forced to retrograde after taking casaulties and direct fire from enemy armor.

Objective GUARDIAN is key terrain for supporting Grossenmarpe; the enemy Brigade is in a position to support the defences at Grossenmarpe and retain those critical bridges, but their axis for reinforces passes through GUARDIAN. Therefore, we must hold to protect the left flank of the Brigade and interdict additional enemey forces from reinforcing Grossenmarpe. 

2. Mission

D Squadron attacks to seize OBJ Guardian NLT H+90 minutes.

3. Execution

My original intention was for D Squadron to move in an arrowhead formation to PL Arran and form up at Checkpoint ("CP") 1. At that point the majority of the Squadron, with the assistance of smoke, would bypass Bruntrup via CP2. The trail elements of the Squadron would mask the town and support this movement by fire. After crossing PL Badger, the intent was to form up short of SBF 2, conduct a quick reload, occupy the position with a base of fire, then proceed via CP 3 to attack OBJ Guardian from the right flank. 

Video AAR

Debrief

It was a good plan, that made full use of obscuring fires and the ridges-to-valleys terrain. The plan goes essentially out the window immediately as all these gorgeous avenues of advance are blocked by minefields which our own recce never identified, having failed to penetrate the Donovian screen at all. I am forced to fight at Bruntrupp a hairy tank duel with a reinforced recce screen, making use of the excellent T-72M4. This naturally degrades my main striking power well before I was ready to accept such attrition. No Challengers are definitively knocked out, but even light damage adds up over the course of a fight.

By the time we limp into the attack position by SBF2, I have 5 combat effective Challenger 2s in the forward element where I could theoretically have had 8. Infantry I had to press into Bruntrupp to clear a path are savaged by an accurate mortar barrage as well, and the dismounts suffer almost a dozen losses. A foolish charge through the town is considered necessary by myself to get us out of the kill zone, and luckily the trailing CR2 platoon is an excellent overwatch position, keeping enemy armoured recce at bay whilst we push through.

At that point I was convinced I could get the plan back on track, and the excellent shoot out from SBF2 that results in the destruction of a dug in enemy mechanized platoon and a platoon of enemy armour seem to reinforce that belief. Sadly that was not to be the case, as the bypass I had selected is also covered by an obstacle belt. 

Luckily, SBF2 proves to be on a decisive point of terrain. Not only does it provide excellent hull down for the 4 CR2s I leave on that position...

...it also allowed for long-range interdiction of enemy attempts to reinforce and/or pass through Objective Guardian. 

An enemy company group is savaged at breath-taking ranges of 3km in the extreme by the covering forces. 

This buys us time to do a much shorter right hook into the objective, with the attached armoured infantry having to deal with another BMP-3 platoon and their dug-in dismounts at "wild-west" ranges. 

All in all a hectic fight, and an excellent scenario. It comes to an end just as the infantry are dismounting to take up blocking positions in Objective Guardian, having shot up yet another platoon of BMP-3s at the edge of town.  

I'm ultimately awarded full points for the victory and force preservation, despite 14 casualties. There are no permanent vehicle losses, though basically every callsign in the Squadron has picked up some battle scars for the effort. 26 Donovian vehicles are destroyed (a mix of BMP-3s, T-72M1s and T-72M4s), along with an unknown number of enemy infantry (I suspect around 80 killed or wounded).

Conclusion

An obvious point, I think, so I will keep it brief. Planning is everything, plans are nothing. 

The scheme of movement was thrown out the window almost as soon as we crossed the first phase line, nevertheless the tattered remnants from the careful map recce I conducted prior to the attack proved decisive, in spite of the enemy's best efforts. SBF2 was key to unsticking the entire enemy position by direct fire. Likewise, careful templating of potential enemy artillery observation posts allowed for their obscuration or neutralisation by mortar fire. The TRPs you saw above (the small crosses with numbers next to them) allowed for quick, rolling fires on obvious positions. 

The obvious conclusion is to always have a plan, even a poor one made in the face of poor intelligence. Thanks for reading and watching.