AAR A/2-7 FTX Operation Crossroads

[Komar.T]

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT
Name of Combat Mission: A.Co FTX Operation Crossroads
Game: Hell Let Loose
Server Hosted on: Training/Event
Date of Combat Mission: 23APR23
Time of Combat Mission (Zulu): 2230Z​

Mission OIC: Captain Rollins.R
Mission Controller: Captain Rollins.R , Second Lieutenant Smith.V
Number of Attendees:95
7th Cavalry Personnel Involved in Action:
Lieutenant Colonel Rob.Y
Major Hayes.J
Major Mix.C
Captain Rollins.R
First Lieutenant Strider.R
First Lieutenant Smithson.R
Second Lieutenant John.K
Second Lieutenant Smith.V
Sergeant Major West.B
First Sergeant Sven.S
Sergeant First Class Zimm.L
Staff Sergeant Hermes.S
Staff Sergeant Williamson.J
Staff Sergeant Avery.D
Sergeant Thrawn.N
Sergeant Meyer.T
Sergeant Dietz.H
Sergeant Griffin.B
Sergeant Ackelson.K
Sergeant Longmen.D
Sergeant Canuck.J
Sergeant Narramoor.A
Sergeant Mueller.H
Corporal Donato.E
Corporal Cantrell.J
Corporal Anderson.P
Corporal Whaley.H
Corporal Jinto.H
Corporal Anderson.J
Corporal Williams.S
Corporal Huber.B
Corporal Webber.R
Corporal Hellious.T
Corporal Rhodes.R
Corporal Bizutto.A
Specialist Quake.B
Specialist Hall.S
Specialist Kiing.T
Specialist Zulu.P
Specialist Slagg.J
Specialist Butch.D
Specialist Hampton.D
Specialist Herber.R
Specialist Williamson.JR
Specialist Choi.S
Specialist Balazova.S
Specialist Guillermo.C
Specialist Mitchell.L
Specialist Coutu.M
Specialist Busch.J
Specialist Blade.B
Specialist McGee.C
Specialist Knapp.D
Specialist Scarselli.T
Specialist Winter.A
Specialist Caldreas.B
Specialist Silvis.B
Specialist Willis.B
Specialist Jefferzon.Z
Specialist DAmico.J
Specialist Fields.M
Specialist Rousseau.A
Specialist Warren.G
Specialist Whitefish.S
Specialist OConnell.J
Specialist Groves.A
Specialist Hansen.Z
Specialist Johnston.J
Specialist Baugher.N
Specialist Maca.D
Private First Class Baldrick.D
Private First Class Moreau.M
Private First Class McCall.M
Private First Class Richman.A
Private First Class Ching.H
Private First Class Joshothy.J
Private First Class Henderson.B
Private First Class Raine.A
Private First Class Rasmus.M
Private Ushakova.T
Private Scott.C
Private Zincoff.O
Private Rivera.A
Private Massey.A
Private Bas.D
Private Chay.S
Private Wayne.C
Private Walker.S
Private Bastogne.M
Private White.N
Reservist Zimm.E
Reservist Newman.A
Reservist Perez.D
Sergeant First Class Gibbs.B (RET)
Corporal Smith.N (RET)

 

[Rob.Y]

S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT​

Element Callsign: Allied SL
Element Leader: Lieutenant Colonel Rob.Y
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Lieutenant Colonel Rob.Y
Sergeant Narramoor.A
Private First Class McCall.M
Ret.Gibbs.B
Specialist Groves.A


Pros:

• Really fun time with my squad!
• Record numbers at the op!
• Really effective open push get the enemy team all the back to boundry
• Felt comms in command was professional and effect

Cons:

• Map boundary being extended to the 3 row I think would have 100% fixed that to be avoid a bit of a meat grinder
• Tanks could work to face multiple direction, couple times got narrowed sighted
• Overall challenge was good, but the meat grinder felt a bit much

 

[Hayes.J]

S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT​

Element Callsign: November
Element Leader: Hayes.J
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element: West.B


Pros:

• Good communication within the Squad.
• Multiple pushes from multiple angles which made for good gameplay.
• OP Ord was explained well.

Cons:

• Open the map up more to allow for more angles of attack.
• Narrow attack lanes made it hard for enemy to move around.
• Possibly more assets for offensive side.

 

[Slagg.J]

Element Callsign: Axis Easy Recon
Element Leader: SPC.Slagg.J
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element: SPC.Zulu.P


Pros:

• Excellent passage of intel and reaction to changing enemy directions/threats.
• Well ordered and efficient fortiffication of the point.
• Clear orders and pre brief made executing the mission much easier.

Cons:

• Deployment of ammo resources faded as the battle progressed.
• Map boundaries seemed to force allies into punishing avenues of attack.

 

[Webber.R]

S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT​

Element Callsign: Delta 2/George Squad Allies
Element Leader: Corporal Ryan Webber
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Specialist Davis Hampton
Specialist Robert Herber
Private First Class Aldon Raine

Pros:

• Excellent attendance number!
• Callouts were on point and reacted to effectively.
• Squad had fun even in defeat.

Cons:

• The AO really needed to be expanded to the outside columns. Funneling everyone down 3 chokepoints that the enemy was dug in without having access to wide flanks made it impossible to maneuver at all. At the very least, attacking team could use command abilities or artillery to break the stalemate gridlock that lasted all match.
• Even more smokes.

 

[Zimm.L]

S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT​

Element Callsign: Allies PL1 Comms 1
Element Leader: Sergeant First Class Zimm.L
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Sergeant First Class Zimm.L


Pros:

• very good first push into foy( first 15 min)
• we tried many different attack area
• enemy team did a very good time with satchels

Cons:

• The AO was to small for the allies side we were funneled in to one grind because of open fields and only a few building for cover
• Defense had way to many advantages compared to the attacking side and also out number attacking team
• We did not have very good coordination with tanks when infantry moved flanks
• OP board needs to be more eastly to understand and spelled out
• For FTX I don't think that it was very well for learning for the Allies because it was just a spawn die sim

 

[Thrawn.N]

S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT​

Element Callsign: Lead Axis Tank Commander
Element Leader: SGT.Thrawn.N
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
SGT.Thrawn.N
SPC.Choi.S
PVT.Bas.D

Pros:

• OMG! Best turn out for A Co FTX!!!
• Excellent Communications between Tanks and Infantry units
• Fluid defensive shifting was really a well worked out tactic
• Infantry support for tanks was very nice to have
• AT Guns brilliant supportive and enemy targeting solutions

Cons:

• Foy town proper, difficult for Armor to maintain a defensive posture
• Additional assets to support Allied offensive, seemed limited in options of assault
• AO was hinderance for Assault units (as mentioned) I understand the frustration if I was them

 

[Mix.C]

S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT​

Element Callsign: Axis SL
Element Leader: Major Mix.C
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
First Sergeant Sven.S
Specialist Warren.G
Specialist DAmico.J
Specialist Fields.M
Specialist Baugher.N

Pros:

• Fantastic squad! So good.
• Axis did a good job adjusting to threats
• Outstanding turnout! 100 next.

Cons:

• No ability for Allies to flank. Kinda broke the OP.
• Some smoothing of the placement process would make things easier. S3 happy to advise.

 

[Avery.D]

S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT​

Element Callsign: Allies SL2
Element Leader: SSG.Avery
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
PFC Baldrick.D
PVT Wayne.C
PVT Ushakova.T



Pros:

• Comms were good

Cons:

• need more then 3 lines to push
• to many troopers in the narrow play area
• every squad member did not have fun
• the town of Foy is too hard to attack to many open fields
• letting defending team have a tiger to start with was to much
• needed more frontline garrisons

 

[Rhodes.R]

S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT​

Element Callsign: Love Squad
Element Leader: Corporal Rhodes.R
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Mueller.H
Corporal Rhodes.R
Private First Class Moreau.M

Pros:

Cons:

​

 

[John.K]

Element Callsign: Bravo Axis
Element Leader: Second Lieutenant John.K
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Bizutto.A
Private White.N
Corporal Donato.E
Pros:

• Had a mission to guard a tank and executed that skillfully
• Good communication within the squad
• Had some excellent toe to toe matchups at varying points in the match

Cons:

• Meat grinder type of OP
• Feel like a little more creativity could've made this near 100 people FTX really great, change some things on the fly etc.

 

[Busch.J]

S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT​

Element Callsign: Tank 4
Element Leader: Busch.J
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Henderson.B
Scarselli.T



Pros:

• Great communication squad wise. Without this we would have blown up 10x over. All 3 crewmembers communicated clearly and effectively in and out of combat.
• Great infantry and tank communication and tactics.

Cons:

• Awareness could be slightly improved on my end. This did result in us getting satchel'd at some point without anyone noticing.

 

[Balazova.S]

S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT​

Element Callsign: Allied Tank 2
Element Leader: Specialist Balazova.S
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Specialist Balazova.S
Specialist Coutu.M
Specialist Caldreas.B


Pros:

• Tank-to-tank coordination and communication was effective.
• Tanks maneuvered together effectively to destroy heavy targets and support infantry.

Cons:

• Server rubber-banding (lag) made communications within and operation of the tank very difficult.
• Available play area was very limiting and allowed defenders to ignore flanks and focus entirely on essentially a single attack direction.
• Excessive use of satchel charges and AT guns in addition to enemy tanks gave a significant advantage to the defenders. Consider in future operations to reduce defender numbers to balance the game for attackers.

 

[Strider.R]

S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT​

Element Callsign: Allied Armor Commander
Element Leader: 1LT.Strider.R
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
SPC.Mitchell.B
SPC.Guillermo.C


Pros:

• Really fun fights
• Offense was fluid and moved from to front
• Good marks and communication
• Tank crews performed perfectly when given instructions
• Creative maneuvers to take on heavy tanks was really fun

Cons:

• OPORD was too restrictive on movement, Defense had the advantage 100% of the time
• While offense was fluid on trying different avenues, we needed to have been more aggresive
• Infantry fight was a slog due to the fear of satchels, tanks couldn't get into any positions to help break up fights. Role ended up being more of suppression of corners while infantry tried to gain footholds.
• Didnt have more time to claw FOY from the German hands

 

[Meyer.T]

S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT​

Element Callsign: Allies FTL
Element Leader: Sergeant Meyer.T
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Private First Class Rasmus.M
Private Chay.S
Private First Class Ching.H


Pros:

• Good comms between sections
• Good effort from Allies and greater defense from Axis

Cons:

• Lack of avenues to push or flank
• Lack of commander abilities and very limited artillery made attacking within 3 grid squares too difficult

 

[Ackelson.K]

S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT​

Element Callsign: Axis Tank squad
Element Leader: Sergeant Sergeant Ackelson.K
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element: Private Massey.A Specialist Winter.A

Pros:
Good intel and reaction to threats.
Armor crew performed well as AT gunners
Planning and briefing made the mission much easier.
Cons:
AT guns were not given clear areas of fire which made overlapping arcs difficult

 

[Hellious.T]

Element Callsign: Axis SBF FTL 1-3
Element Leader: Corporal Hellious.T
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Dalton.D
Specialist Willis.B
Specialist Maca.D
Private First Class Joshothy.J



Pros:

• Command comms were relatively clean - however some separate time at the start to brief troops without discord pinging off would be good
• Troopers held the east side with great effectiveness, SBF was leveraged with effective height advantage.
• anti tank elements removed several armor units at range
• Troop movement in urban environment required to collapse was accomplished with good partner boundings to retake building assets

Cons:

• potentially add airhead or extra grid lines for flanking or surrounding routes
• improvement to op could include artillery for attacker on a permanent basis until cap is obtained then the new attacker gets artillery - tug of war

 

[Smith.V]

Element Callsign: Allies Commander
Element Leader: 2nd Lieutenant Smith.V
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
2nd Lieutenant Smith.V

Pros

• Fantastic Turnout!
• Communication between infantry squads was solid.
• Communication between armor and infantry was generally good.
• Most troopers enjoyed the OP.

Cons

• Ruleset was tremendously difficult for the Allied team.
  • Limiting the play area disallowed us to flank and control key assaulting positions.
  • The lack of commander abilities led to an unbreakable stalemate.
  • Tiger tank strayed from Foy proper a few times and was incredibly derisive to Allied movement.
  • The ability of the Axis to have up to three AT guns at a time was incredibly punishing for our armored assets; ultimately we were totally unable to use armor offensively.
  • The conveyed advantage of all of the listed factors was frustrating as a team; we simply could not gain traction into Foy.

 

[Hermes.S]

Element Callsign: AXIS - SL 1: Gulf Squad
Element Leader: Staff Sergeant Hermes.S
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Specialist Quake.B

Pros:

• A different role for myself; flank vs in the thick of it.
• Good response from recon paired with infantry
• Clever tactics from the enemy on the flank I was assigned to protect.
• 96 people showed up!

Cons:

• Exciting to hear the heavy fighting. The boundaries prevented the enemy from any true avenue or foothold from the West since Cobru was beyond the boundary. It didn't lead to much fighting, although the fighting that went on there was fun.
• Balancing: Heavily favored the defensive side.
• The allies had two grid squares to hit: and in those two grid squares lay 80+ enemy infantry.
• Too many people for a concept that has AOE restrictions as it did.
• Need multiple contingency plans when one side is overwhelmingly winning. IE: allow commander abilities or arty. Open up the AOE. Restrict the winning team to garrison spawns only, etc. I think this is something that the GM needs to have ready at all OP/FTX to prevent it being one sided.

 

[Dietz.H]

Element Callsign: Axis FTL 4 - Item Squad
Element Leader: Sergeant Dietz.H
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Cantrell.J
Private Walker.S
Reservist Perez.D

Pros:

• Great Turnout
• Defenders were fluid and quick to react
• Sit reps were given often
• Attackers kept the pressure up and attacked from every angle

Cons:

• Axis side could have done with a little more planning beforehand
• Axis comms were far too crowded. Once the pressure was on everyone was talking over each other. Previous FTXs where SLs made call outs as needed and PL/CMDR directed squads & kept everything organized seemed to run very smoothly
• Allies needed to push their advantage more when they got a foothold. As soon as troops are gaining ground; add momentum to it
• Too many players for this concept. With 96 players we had the numbers for a "real" game of HLL
• Need to give Attackers more of an advantage on Offensive missions. Defenders maximized their advantage with 3 AT guns and 2 recon squads shooting flares constantly

Echoing Hermes suggestion for contingency plans. A trooper of mine brought up the same idea