AAR AAR Operation Combat Steep Terrain - 15JUN24

[James.M]

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT
Name of Combat Mission: Operation Combat Steep Terrain
Game: Hell Let Loose
Server Hosted on: =7Cav= HLL Training Server 1
Date of Combat Mission: 15JUN24
Time of Combat Mission (Zulu): 2330Z​

Mission OIC: First Lieutenant James.M & Corporal Bean.P
Mission Controller: Major Cameron.J
Number of Attendees: 50
7th Cavalry Personnel Involved in Action:
Major Cameron.J
Major Mix.C
First Lieutenant Argentini.E
First Lieutenant Smith.V
First Lieutenant James.M
Second Lieutenant DAmico.J
Second Lieutenant Rhodes.R
Second Lieutenant Korfias.F
Staff Sergeant Phillips.B
Staff Sergeant Bizutto.A
Staff Sergeant Hermes.S
Staff Sergeant Hellious.T
Sergeant Guillermo.C
Sergeant Sotelo.R
Sergeant Berkowski.C
Sergeant Groves.A
Sergeant Herber.R
Sergeant Karr.H
Corporal Warren.G
Corporal LaRoche.P
Corporal Lee.N
Corporal Leifried.R
Corporal OCulien.M
Corporal Moreau.M
Corporal Ackerman.J
Corporal Slagg.J
Corporal Smith.N
Corporal Owens.J
Corporal Bean.P
Corporal Wisniewski.A
Corporal Lucas.A
Corporal Swanson.B
Specialist Bas.D
Specialist Woody.W
Specialist Rousseau.A
Specialist Quake.B
Specialist Harris.W
Specialist Patricks.C
Specialist Johnson.G
Specialist Felton.J
Specialist Macpherson.C
Private First Class Wagner.D
Private First Class Shaw.L
Private First Class Maines.Z
Private First Class Dailey.D
Private First Class Parton.D
Private First Class Feathers.A
Private First Class Patterson.C
Private Von Busch.M
Private Diaz.L





Pros:

• Excellent Comms
• Great Preparation for this match
• Lots of contributions from Troopers all over the 7th Cav
• Match Start was good

Cons:

• APL rules we agreed to were not abided by, by our opponent
• 10MD utilized other communities that we were not aware of
• Need to Strat other Objectives for fall back and Assault

 

[Lee.N]

Element Callsign: Allied Tank Commander 2, call sign "Rocinante"
Element Leader: Corporal Lee.N
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Lee.N
Corporal Leifried.R
Specialist Bas.D

Pros:

• Great inter-tank and within-tank comms
• Great marks on tanks with just a few problems (see cons)
• Won nearly every tank engagement, except for one notable due to them being blended in perfectly and extremely aggressive at the time.
• Our team was entirely 7Cav, other team was 10th and merc. I'm glad we can fill an entire team for every competitive match
• Even though we lost, I think we did really well and did what we could. A lot to learn from and a lot to work on!

Cons:

• Marks weren't always cleaned up. One time with the dead tiger in the north, the old marks caused communication in command comms (luckily the only bad part of command comms this match)
• We lost almost every infantry-tank battle we had. I would pan in the spotter seat, pan again 5 second later, and we would have infantry on us placing a satchel. They reacted to us extremely quickly, more than I have ever seen in a game before.
• Several times, I over extended us and infantry overwhelmed us. Something to work on for us as tankers is communicating exact friendly infantry needs; we did not request more infantry until it was too late.
• We did not execute any tank-infantry pushes into point; that would have changed things if we could have taken the map edge doing so.
• This was the fastest I have ever seen infantry get across the river in the north; they overwhelmed us and that was how they took River Crossing so quickly.
• Although at times we overextended ourselves, we did not have the infantry support we discussed prior to the operation within our plans. Due to this, we could not be aggressive.

 

[Swanson.B]

Element Callsign:
Element Leader: Corporal Swanson.B
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
-

Pros: I was filming

Cons:

Just saying i was there

 

[Wagner.D]

Element Callsign: Allied Recon Team Romeo
Element Leader: Private First Class Wagner.D
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Warren.G

Pros:

• Flare capability on points with call outs
• Able to maneuver around on back end to help where they pushed

Cons:

• No ammo for resupply of flares. This prevented multiple flares to assist. Had to die in order to get more up and assist.

 

[Korfias.F]

Element Callsign: Allied George Squad - Infantry
Element Leader: Second Lieutenant Korfias.F
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Smith.N - Retired
Corporal Slagg.J
Corporal Owens.J

Pros:

• Nodes went down quickly, supplies followed quickly. Truck from south worked well.
• Got to the point on time, took 3 story building and held for awhile.
• Squad call outs and pings were accurate and timely. Squad comms were excellent.

Cons:

• Command comms were very crowded, people talking over each other, a lot of information that shouldn't be shared in command. 2 OPs down isn't something command needs to know. Made it difficult to communicate with my squad and the other infantry squads.
• Once they pushed us off mid point it felt like we were backpedaling the rest of the night. Managed to sneak my squad back into the point but was ultimately not followed and then were closed off.
• Once again up against an enemy that called in ringers. Why did the enemy not field a full team?

 

[Bizutto.A]

Element Callsign: Allied Airborne Squad "Baker"
Element Leader: Staff Sergeant Bizutto.A
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Second Lieutenant Rhodes.R

Pros:

• Good in squad comms
• Had some good flex's
• Nice to see so A/T's swarming tanks pushing a hard-point and get the kill
• Good map mark's throughout the match, but could work on cleaning them up sooner
• Seemed like we got out of HQ's fast and effectively.

Cons:

• Didn't have the ability to push off defensive positions.
• Seems like we had difficulty getting their back garries.
• Would be nice to play against a single team (Merc showing up wasn't the best). But I understand its hard to match 7cav's ability to fill a 50 man roster.
• Not sure I heard too many MG's up to hold those northern fields of pumping station. Could have used more.

 

[Cameron.J]

Element Callsign: Allied Commander
Element Leader: Major Cameron.J
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element: Major Cameron.J

Pros:

• Pre-Planning went extremely well
• Comms were much better than most Ops
• Morale is pretty high even after a loss

Cons:

• Opposing Team brought MERC - not a clan we want to play with
• Our frontal Infantry was too thin
• Infantry was stalled almost immediately on initial assault
• We didn't adjust to garrison losses

 

[Groves.A]

Element Callsign: Allied East Airborne Unit "Dog"
Element Leader: Sergeant Groves.A
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Private First Class Parton.D

Pros:

• Clean in-squad communications and call outs between Parton and myself, and within the AB discord.
• Match start felt extremely clean, great job on nodes & getting to the trucks quickly.
• Thought it was a positive showing compared to where we were months ago. Let's keep moving forward and improving along the way.
• Fantastic planning efforts by all the leadership, those slides were awesome. Thank you for that time and effort!

Cons:

• It's extremely frustrating to continue to play against these hodge podge selections of competitive communities. Who killed me the most, about four different MERC members. I guess 10MD might have been in the match too, somewhere...
• Had an infantry truck destroyed by an enemy AT trooper riding a transport truck in, feels like that's a strategy we should be using on the ride in to try to eliminate large pockets of enemies.
• Losing/not attempting to occupy the north of canal for the middle strongpoint fight was a huge miss. They were able to get 7/8 enemy infantry in there ASAP and that was killer. We were surrounded from the north canal infantry, east factory infantry, and southeast infantry that got to the factory/church AO well before any of our units.
• Didn't feel like our southern AB assault was effective enough to relieve enough pressure on the defense. We would get some very deep spawns set up, but once we got close enough to enemy hot points and spawns, they had those locked down.
• Need to work on stronger fallback priority list/plans, counter attacking assignments and plans when we lose center point.
• Assault Airborne units should have THREE total troopers, it's impossible to set-up good red zone garrisons when it's a SL + trooper. Shouldn't need to call reinforcements for other units or perform weird swaps in your section to try to accomplish this. Having three total makes it way easier to be an effective assaulting unit.

 

[Sotelo.R]

Element Callsign:
Element Leader:
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:

Pros:

Cons:

 

[Woody.W]

Element Callsign:
Element Leader: SPC.Woody.W
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
-

Pros:

• we fought
• Garry's Were good
• nodes were good
• The plane at start worked well

Cons:

• they pushed threw the same gaps in our lines and we would not fill it
• don’t forget to remove old or updated markers use observers to save on clutter
• if I had more ppl I may of been able to fill the gap. Or build more Garry or drop more explosive ammo

 

[Argentini.E]

Element Callsign: Charlie Section Allies Recon
Element Leader: First Lieutenant Argentini.E
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element: Private First Class Maines.Z

Pros:

• Good match start w/ recon vehicle.
• Commander wasting a lot of staffing runs on little o' me.

Cons:

• Lanes held making it hard to advance
• Unable to get out of Customs area due to streets being held.
• Hard to go up against a dedicated group with casuals.

 

[Rousseau.A]

Element Callsign: Allied Airborne Squad "Fox"
Element Leader: Specialist Rousseau.A
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Staff Sergeant Phillips.B

Pros:

• Comms were pretty clear, it was not too loud and disturbing
• We did a good job finding and destroying enemy garry/outpost
• Even if the enemy had the upper hand, everyone was fighting super hard without giving up, moral was very high
• Squad on defense did an outstanding job holding pumping station that long while the airborne was trying (with limited result, I apologize for that) to attack the enemy position

Cons:

• We couldn't put enough pressure on the enemy point to remove the pressure on our defensive point
• Sometime it was difficult to replace destroyed garry, we manage to do it but sometime a little slower than expected
• I don't know if this would have change the result of the match, but I would expect to fight against 10md, not a mix up of 2 teams

 

[Herber.R]

Element Callsign: Able Squad Allied Infantry
Element Leader: Sergeant Herber.R
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
SPC.Felton.J
SPC.Macpherson.C
SPC.Johnson.G

Pros:

• Infantry communication and cohesion was on point. Calling out and marking enemy tanks and infantry were crucial to this communication.
• A lot of great redirections of defenses on Pumping station from multiple different squads.

Cons:

• Armored support felt lacking. Many times, a friendly tank was actively being supported by an infantry unit however, the friendly tanks seemed to not want to press ahead onto an offensive posture. There was no pressure from our armor support where the enemy infantry was actively moving with their armor and wiping us out from our positions. (I would love to see more Infantry and Armor cohesion and practice to get this fine tuned.)
• Airborne units need to be apart of the bigger offensive picture until the center point is captured and under complete control however, it seemed that this time around we lost our center point and couldn't gain any ground on it and Airborne was off behind enemy lines. I may not have seen the bigger picture but from the outside looking in it seemed that Airborne wasn't as effective or useful as they could have been.
• The infantry that pushed onto Canal Crossings at match start all went to the same location. If we would have split the attack to separate sectors of Canal Crossings I feel that there could have been more ground gained during this initial attack and possibly led to us taking the center point.

 

[Felton.J]

Pro:

• Infantry communication was stellar, in squad and between squads people were calling out anything and everything coming from the enemy.
• The initial push was timed well, both trucks made it into the point with minimal casualties to start giving us a solid foot hold on canal
• The level of detail put into the preparation of this match was great to see. a lot of care was put into trying to set us up for success.
• Was great to see the amount of turnout for this match, its something we never have an issue with and it seems like more and more sign up and show up.

Cons:

-We need more aggression from our armor assets point blank period. Many instances of tanks sitting back, not truly applying any pressure to the enemy and failing to take advantage of the infantry around them that were preventing the axis side from doing any meaningful damage from the sides and rear.

-A different game-plan for counter attack upon losing the 3rd point after initial attack. More than on one occasion there seemed to be multiple squads 2,3,4,5 grid squares away doing seemingly nothing to apply pressure or help the infantry on the frontline attack.

-Putting squads into the best position to effect match outcome. for the last 6 or 7 rounds played we keep putting certain squads and sections into situations they cannot handle which leads to a extremely ineffective offensive threat. A change up in roles or re-assignment seems to be needed for us to be more effective.

- Upper leadership needs to look at a possible shakeup of total game plan, the current theory we are applying has done nothing but lead to the quick loss of 3rd and 4th point in game, what we think should work and what clearly actually works at this point seem to be polar opposites.

- Be truthful in post-match hotwashes. I've noticed an uptick in what seems to be unwarranted praise for the performance that's leading to loss after loss after loss. We can praise the effort given in game but to have a parade in VC about everyone playing well and winning engagements but we have just gotten 5-0'd no less than 3 times recently. The fact of the matter is we aren't winning the engagements that matter , if we were then we wouldn't be in the place we are currently which is a downward trend record wise.

-Defense responsibilities. We keep seemingly having to rotate multiple squads that are tasked (and specialize) in spearheading points. We cannot have an effective offense that has teeth when the teeth of that offense are taken out routinely to play defense. We are conceding ground earned at that point.

 

[LaRoche.P]

Element Callsign: Item Artillery
Element Leader: Corporal Laroche.P
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:

Pros:

• Guys in trucks at the right time.
• Nodes up quick
• Command chat was not clustered.

Cons:

• Garrisons not being kept up after getting destroyed.
• Tanks being on their own a lot of the time.
• Turtling on the point a lot instead of trying to push them and/or applying pressure on attack.

 

[Wisniewski.A]

Element Callsign: Allied Infantry Squad "Sugar"
Element Leader: Corporal Wisniewski.A
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Sergeant Karr.H
Corporal Lucas.A
Private First Class Patterson.C


Pros:

• Sugar squad did great - good coms and everyone was quick to move and adjust to where they needed to be
• Defense on Pumping Station was solid, we held that point for quite a long time
• Good job overall, this was a tough opponent, and we definitely showed some improvement from the last match
• Great film to analyze and learn from, thank you CPL.Swanson.B and all others who posted their perspective!

Cons:

• As a SL, I lost an OP to a point capture that I wasn't able to replace for ~1 minute - better situational awareness could've prevented that
• Truck that I understood to be going North of the Canal went South instead
• We lost a truck-load of people due to a rocket hitting one of the trucks on innitial approach. We should look to either jump out earlier or utilize routes with fewer sightlines for enemy AT, especially for points where we are at a huge time disadvantage.
• Though we did well on defense for pumping station, we never were able to push off the hard point to the North to allow us some breathing room and assist our tankers out there. This would also help to relieve pressure by wiping more of their spawn points

 

[Hellious.T]

Element Callsign: Allied Prep squad- infatry
Element Leader: Staff Sergeant Hellious.T
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Major Mix.C
Specialist Patricks.C
Private First Class Feathers.A

Pros:

• Prep work on the nodes and start were good, left a couple behind they got to catch up
• the prep work on the map was good and in depth.
• Squad did everything that was asked of them - called out and supported each other well
• For the most part command comms were alright but it became a bit of a mess just prior to pumping station falling - good and bad here

Cons:

• After the initial push we had a lack of manpower within the four grid of the intended mid point, lost momentum and lane pressures, south and south east flanks fell apart.
• There was a point where I probably should have pulled my guys off attack and swung north into their lines to assist defense but missed the opportunity of it.
• Once the mid point was lost we had split forces (some south attacking some north defending) they split us down the center and shoved as a concentrated force making the attack wing cut off and unable to support a crush on their attack. we should have perhaps met them head on rather than split
• Again setup match where the opposition cannot supply a full team and call up top players to carry pushes. Id like to rather see our extra guys get to play that showed up and were turned away as we used to be able to do previous - this has been leaving sour taste in the guys mouths

 

[Hermes.S]

Element Callsign: Allied - Lima Squad - Infantry
Element Leader: Staff Sergeant Hermes.S
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Bean.P
Specialist Quake.B
Specialist Harris.W
Private First Class Patterson.C

Before watching footage

Pros:

• The start felt solid: Nodes up without a hitch. All were in the truck and on the ready line at the appropriate time.
• The usual "Squad communication" felt strong. Good pings, and good callouts.
• I think Command comms sounded improved; especially in such a hot situation. I think we were super focused and putting everything into it.
• We contested the center point for a hot minute. Started making headway.
• Despite having lost the center: Back on PS, I felt like we vocally organized positions. I know I called out multiple times to the three main squads in or around Hardcap: Lima S/SW, Korf: N/NE, and other squad: S/SE.
• We lasted much longer this time around. I think that shows improvement.

Cons:

• The push on the center point felt undermanned, with little strength behind it to support pushing on and a little past. I felt that getting away from the hardcap stack was not the best idea.
• I don't remember well but fighting for the center: I don't think I saw or witnessed any Artillery support.
• Tank support on both the push and in general felt minimal at best. Very little aggression. Far too conservative.
• Again. Why does a light armor whether it's a luch or recon, take 10 minutes to kill? AT infantry? Tank support? ZERO excuse.
• Groups felt mildly out of place.
• The need to reassess our tactics is high IMO.
• The defense felt strong but scattered and with minimal support besides themselves.
• Garri's game started strong. Wavered. And then fell apart. Why is this an issue? SLs, your goal is to position your team and get Garry's up. To hell with your KD
• Minimal if any offensive ground made. At no point were the enemy defenders concerned and pulling attention off their offensive to assist.
• Again, over extended to the extreme on multiple facets. Extreme flanks. Defensive units felt misplaced and too far away to assist in any endeavor on the defense.
• It never felt clear in regards to coordinating efforts both on defense and especially offense What I mean is that One-minute squads were hosting defensively. And then the next off they went and I don't recall the commander commanding that.
• A little over the excessive focus and push towards the meta. That's not us. We beat 10MD/Merc doing cav things. Not this two meta, undermanned squads.
• Lastly. Kind of over the ringer bs. If you can't field the proper amount. We should fill the other side with what we have left.

-------
After watching footage

Pros:

Cons:

 

[Ackerman.J]

Element Callsign: Mike
Element Leader: Corporal Ackerman.J
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Private First Class Dailey.D

Pros:

• Me and PFC.Dailey.D Held our own and protected our rear flank
• Good comms with squad
• We all did great as we lasted much longer

Cons:

• I was not expecting Merc to show up
• Slight rework of match start up
• I built a garrison on 502nd that was easily destroyed as we were losing pumping station
• APL Rules must be followed in which it wasn't by the opposing side.
• We need more defensive squads for the south to fill in massive gaps in which they came from.

 

[Rutkowski.P]

Locked.

Assigned Hood.D for processing.