The Infernal Island AAR

[DirkGaming]

Here is the AAR of my playthrough of “The Infernal Island” from the German perspective.

Here is the scenario overview:





And the initial briefing and map:

My initial plan is to have initially the 10nd SS move up and attack in the southern sector, whereas the other forces will rest and recover awaiting the arrival of the reinforcements. Once they have arrived, another attack will be launched southwards.​

This is the situation at D1 12h15 (so 6 hours after the start of the scenario "The infernal island"). The Allied forces have started an offensive themselves in the northern sector, along the highway leading to Arnhem. Also some isolated elements were spotted north of the Rhine, sneaking into Arnhem from the west. In order to protect my artillery units located there, I ordered an engineer company, together with the III Bn Landstorm Nederland to move west of Arnhem. Furthermore, in order to block the advance along the highway, the freshly arrived reinforcements were ordered to set up a blocking position across the highway. The II/156 PzGr was sent to the sector west of Arnhem (north of the Rhine) to block further incursions. At a later stage I might use these troops to cross the Rhine, west of Arnhem. In the south the 10th SS moved into position, but it is faced also with some allied offensive (although it seems smaller).​

Day 1, 20h

By the end of the day (sunset was at 19h), it is now 20h, my troops in the northern sector have taken their positions and started looking for enemy infiltrations north of the Rhine river. The Allied offensive along the highway has halted: artillery fire together with the arrived reinforcements were able to stop the advance. A similar picture in the southern sector, where the 10th SS is moving into the town of Haalderen....​

Day 2, 6h

During the night, the Allied forces tried to resume their attack along the highway, pushing north. But the I/156 PzGr, together with the II/16 Pz were able to stop the advance. For the rest, the troops on both sides were recovering and resting...​

In the morning of D2, I order the 10th SS to continue its advance towards Haalderen in the southern sector. At the same time, the I/11 PzGr, the II/KG21, KG Bruhn and KG Knaust are ordered to attack as well. Along the highway, the II/16 Pz is ordered to push back the Allies from the ground they captured yesterday.​

Day 2, 18h45

At the end of D2 (it is now 18h45, just before sunset) the situation is as follows. In the southern sector, despite heavy fighting, little progress was made by the 10th SS. Similarly, the attack of the I/11 PzGr was stopped by what appears to be elements of the Coldstream Guards. It is somehow frustrating that so little intel on the enemy is available for now.... In teh northern sector, an attack was launched by the I/156 Pz Gr and II/16 Pz with the objective of cutting the railway line to the north. I will use the night to enable my troops to rest somehow, and reconsider my options.​

 

[DirkGaming]

Day 3, 6h15

It is D3 6h15, just after sunrise. In the northern sector I used the darkness of the night to advance closer to the Allied line. It seems that another Allied attack is starting to progress along trhe highway. I order the 3rd Coy sPz Bn 506 (with Tiger II tanks) into a blocking position. In the southern sector I/11 PzGr. together with the 2nd Coy sPz Bn 506 has crossed the minor river in an attempt to get to Baal. They will be supported by the II/ KG 21, while the II/ KG 21 and both battalions of KG 22 of the 10th SS will continue their effort to push the enemy out of Haalderen.


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Day 3, 19h

After a day of heavy fighting, the 10th SS was able to capture Haalderen and Baal in the southern sector, The I/11 PzGr is however still blocked by elements of the Coldstream Guards. In the northern sector, a counterattack by the II/11 PzGr into the right flank of the Allied force that launched an attack along the highway, was very successful: a lot of enemy units disintegrated and a solid line was established along the railway. I also ordered the reinforcements of the 50 PzJg Bn to move to Hoeve as a reserve force. I will decide later what to do with them....​

This is the overall picture on Day 3 at 19h



Day 4, 6h

A heavy fog has settled in reducing visibility for the moment to 100m. During the night I moved up some reserves and I have taken advantage of the darkness to move my troops in positions ready to resume the offensive. In the northern sector, th eII/156 PzGr will try to cross the Rhine by ferry (using the fog!!) in order to create a diversion. Meanwhile, the Aufkl Bn of the 116th Pz, together with the II/60 PzGr will attack to the west with the objective to take the railway crossing. A little more to the south II/16 Pz, together with the I/60 PzGr, I/156 PzGr and the I/24 Pz (moved up during the night) will try to eliminate the enemy units in front of them, thereby clearing the objective De Laar. Finally, the I/60 PzGr and II/11 PzGr will attack in teh direction of Elst with the support of the 3rd Coy sPz Bn 506. In the southern sector, the Aufkl Bn of the 9th Pz has sneaked into Baal, reinforcing the elements of the II/KG21 that occupied the town. I will send them southwards in an attempt to attack the enemy in front of Haalderen from the rear. Meanwhile the SS elements holding Haalderen will move up north. I hope that this will eliminate the enemy that is still around the town of Haalderen, thereby freeing up my forces in the south for further offensive actions. I feel that today is the decisive day!​

Day 4, 18h

During the day the fog lifted for some time, enabling long(er) range fire. At the end of the day, in the northern sector the Rhine was not yet crossed (does the ferry work at all???), whereas the railway crossing is still occupied by the Allied forces. However, the enemy was further pushed back in the region of De Laar. Furthermore, my troops have taken up positions further south on the highway, ready for a push towards Elst (which I will try during night). In the southern sector, my combined effort resulted in the (almost) complete destruction of the enemy forces around Haalderen, and Baal is now firmly in the hands of II/KG 21. I also sent a recon mission towards De Pas, encountering only some enemy artillery unit on its way.





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[DirkGaming]

Day 5, 6h

During the night my troops mainly kept their positions, except for a night attack on Elst (yet unsuccessful in throwing the Allied forces out...) and taking up some positions to the south of Kuilenburg in the southern sector. The plan for today is to try to capture Elst and the railway crossing, while probing towards Bemmel and Lent in the southern sector.





Day 5, 12h09

In the northern sector the crossing of the Rhine by the II/156 PzGr seems to take forever: nobody has crossed yet! The II/16 Pz was ordered to attack north along the railway in order to help the attack on the railway crossing from the east. Heavy fighting around Elst for control of the city, as well as around Bemmel in the southern sector. The probe towards Lent encountered quite some enemy troops, so I ordered the 2nd Coy of the 10th SS Aufkl. Bn to take up some defensive position.​

Day 5, 19h

In the northern sector the II/16 Pz has advanced from the south, closing in on te railway crossing. The infantry of KG Knaust has moved up to the southern edges of the woods nearby. Hopefully a final push will be able to dislodge the enemy from teh railway crossing and capture it. More to the west, The Allies have assembled quite some forces... Will they intent to cross the Rhine? I suspect it will take them a lot of time as well, given the slow progress I have made in ferrying II/156 PzGr across (still nobody on the other side!) Alternatively the enemy could be assembling a force to push east on the southern bank of the Rhine in order to counterattack towards the railway crossing.... In the center of the map, the town of Elst has finally fallen into our hands. I will use the night to consolidate my position in order to establish a good defense against any counterattack against this important point along the highway... In the southern sector, around Bemmel, the enemy was pushed back a little, but I did not manage to capture the town. Meanwhile 2nd Coy of he 10th SS Aufkl Bn has moved back north under the aggressive scouting from the enemy around Lent....






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Day 6, 6h

Sunrise at 6h.... In the northern sector, finally some elements (only HQ?) of the II/156 PzGr were ferried across the Rhine, thereby capturing the victory location on the south bank. Likewise, the railway crossing seems now in our hands after some short furious night fights. However, there remains a large enemy troop concentration in the woods southwest of this railway crossing, so I will have to look out for any counterattacks.... The town of Elst remained under our control during the night, and no enemy movement was observed here. In the southern sector, my troops used the cover of the darkness to close in on the town center of Bemmel, but its control remains disputed.... Given that here is only one day remaining, I will try to stick to the captured objectives, and maybe push a last time for Bemmel's control....





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[DirkGaming]

End of scenario.

During day 6 not much happened.... My attempt to capture Bemmel was unsuccessful, and unfortunately it resulted in the almost complete annihilation of the 9 Aufkl Bn. The end result shows a draw. The losses on Allied side are considerable, also witnessed by the map of the eliminated units.



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Here are the maps of the different sectors at the end of the scenario:







and the control map:

 

[GoodGuy]

(Day 1): "By the end of the day (sunset was at 19h), it is now 20h"

That's interesting, as in Arnhem the sunset should kick in a bit later, at 19:14 h (with the start of the civil twilight), to be exact. Troops should then still be able to perform some operations, until around 20:04 h (16 mins after the end of the civil twilight which ends at 19:48 h). Complete darkness kicks in at the end of the nautical twilight (20:27 h):

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(Day 6): "Sunrise at 6h....."

On 6 October, civil twilight starts at 07:11 h and sunrise kicks in at 07:44.

Maybe one of the Beta bunnies has time to check if there's an issue.

AAR feedback:

"Day 1, 20h
...... it is now 20h, my troops in the northern sector have taken their positions and started looking for enemy infiltrations north of the Rhine river."

I see two enemy units on the north bank, I'm not sure whether one of those sightings is just reflecting bad intel or an actual unit, the other sighting looks somewhat like the info is current/good. Whatsoever, I'd recommend to just leave a few companies behind (motorized, if possible), to assess the situation and roam/search in a speedy manner, while sending the rest of the force across the river.
For this, you should have directed the forces on the north bank to the main bridge at Arnheim, as CO used to have (and obviously still has) problems with ferry crossings, CO did/does not realistically depict ferry/pontoon bridge laying operations. Historically, the Germans managed to get multiple units across the river to perform an attack on Elst/the right flanks of the highway from the East. If I am not mistaken, the ferry operations took 3-7 hrs, in the main, I'd have to look it up, though.
In CO, ferry crossings may take up to 2 days (or longer), especially with exhausted or very large units (ie. artillery units with 500+ troops), who seem to use the ferry as "floatel", resting and enjoying the river view.

Anyway, with the decision to send the Panzergrenadier and the Landstorm Nederland units back across the river to the north bank, you ended up doing without a vital part of your force and without a vital amount of flexibility, as these forces don't get to join the frey. I'd recommend to place reserves at locations where they can easily relocate and reach their FUPs, if you decide to keep some units in reserve.
There's quite some real estate behind the frontline, you control Elden and the roads north, east and southeast of Elden, which gives you plenty of room to manoeuvre.

Good job at the Elst perimeter, but I think you should have reduced the forces on your left flank (South bank) and redirected some of their assets (armor) to bolster the Recon Bn up north (where it pushed to clear the railway crossing). If the intel is accurate, your forces near that crossing are "only" facing motorized inf, I don't see any Allied tank units, at least. With some added punch (eg. some of the StuGs and JgPanther(?) of the Panzerjäger-Abteilung 50), your units on the right flank could have pushed along the river towards the ferry crossings in the west and unhinged their left flank, that way. After such a push, your forces could have moved south and attacked Elst from the West, in addition to the units attacking from the North.
Placing one Coy at each (potential) crossing on the north bank, which would dig in after a while, would have been a sufficient measure to counter Allied attempts to cross the river.

I am not sure about the distribution of victory points in this scenario, but I could imagine that a marginal victory would be possible, at least.
Imho, the goal here would be to keep their tank units near the center entertained (with AT inf), while employing your tank assets at the enemy's weak point (eg. on your right flank).