AAR Operation Hürt Breaker 21JUL24

[Komar.T]

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
S3 BATTLE STAFF
Headquarters
7th Cavalry Regiment
COMBAT AFTER ACTION REPORT
Name of Combat Mission: Operation Hürt Breaker
Game: Hell Let Loose Server Hosted on:
Date of Combat Mission: 21JUL24 Time of Combat Mission (Zulu): 0030Z
​

Mission OIC: Sergeant Major Komar.T
Mission Controller: Sergeant Major Komar.T
Number of Attendees: 49
7th Cavalry Personnel Involved in Action:

First Lieutenant James.M
First Lieutenant Anderson.P
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Mullins.R
Sergeant Major Komar.T
First Sergeant Balazova.S
Staff Sergeant Herber.R
Staff Sergeant Hermes.S
Staff Sergeant Zulu.P
Sergeant Noriega.D
Sergeant Swanson.B
Sergeant White.C
Sergeant Silvis.B
Sergeant Sotelo.R
Sergeant Lucas.A
Corporal LaRoche.P
Corporal Macpherson.C
Corporal Bean.P
Corporal OCulien.M
Corporal Ackerman.J
Corporal Moreau.M
Corporal Richmond.DA
Corporal Massey.A
Corporal Leifried.R
Corporal Warren.G
Specialist Choi.S
Specialist Baldrick.D
Specialist Bas.D
Specialist Woody.W
Specialist Donk.B
Specialist Silvis.C
Specialist Quake.B
Specialist Sokol.Z
Specialist Felton.J
Specialist Parton.D
Specialist Fabie.D
Specialist Shaw.JW
Specialist Rousseau.A
Specialist Fields.M
Specialist Hood.D
Specialist Laui.M
Private First Class Feathers.A
Private First Class Loshus.S
Private First Class Smith.ER
Private First Class Yaeger.C
Private First Class Von Busch.M
Private York.M
Private Lewis.P
Private Hawthorne.S
Corporal Smith.N (RET)

 

[Sotelo.R]

Element Callsign: Armor Lead TC
Element Leader: Sergeant Sotelo.R
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Sergeant Sotelo.R
Corporal Massey.A
Private Hawthorne.S

Pros:

• Armor's game plan had established a good baseline for individual crews to know there role at any specific point depending on the current situation.
  • I want to make a specfic note known: The baseline posture of armor when the midpoint was held by the enemy was to maintain 2 aggressive-leaning armor assets until the midpoint was captured.
• We won the starting armor battles up front, taking good sightlines and maintain decent armor superiority until the enemy team took the midpoint.
• Armor's fall back and condensation to the defense of Hill 15 did help maintain our teams defensive hold for an extended period of time to try and get back an assault.
• Overall Armor platoon performance saw MULTIPLE dispatched tanks, multiple dozens of infantry knocked down, and numerous AT guns neutralized, even with the "less than preferred aggression" we wanted.

Cons:

• AT gun use was very low compared to the enemy, so maybe the idea of only using them for tanks (which I also backed) should be revisited.
• Overall team sector control lacked, losing control of key areas that gave the enemy easier routes of assault
• Although markers (of any kind) were numerous and plentiful, there was an overabundance, causing miss-locations and confusions as outdated markers were not quickly taken off map.

I want to respectfully address a sentiment that I was told was felt by a couple of individuals, in that armor was not aggressive enough last night:

The aggression of armor is not always the rough rowdy full-steam charge that some believe needs to happen to get things moving. If you reflect back, the armor elements on both teams were quite identical: Hang back and use the advantage of range and sightlines to throw shells, send maybe one tank out full rage. When either of us sent tanks into the fray or down the middle, they were rapidly picked off by SBF tanks hanging in the distance or overwhelmed by infantry, which is evident by our Tiger's death when it aggressively pushed the midpoint, and multiple tanks we sent over the river as back line aggression, simultaneously with my tank alone taking down a tank and multiple AT guns pressuring Hill 25.

It was said during pre-match strategizing meetings, and was even mentioned before the match: this is the norm of armor on Hurtgen Forest.

As the Lead TC last night, I would be happy to sit down with anyone who wishes and explain every intricacy of armor decision making based off last night's match, answer questions, and propose ideas.

 

[Hermes.S]

Element Callsign: Assault Support - Axis
Element Leader: Staff Sergeant Hermes.S
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Specialist Quake.B
Specialist Sokol.Z
Private First Class Smith.ER

Pros:

• A super productive and fun post-game review on Sunday! THX LTC.Hayes for being active in what we are doing!
• Strong initial push!
• Strong squad-level work...
• My squaddies killed it. Great work fellahs. Your discipline was on point.

Cons:

• We need to stop. Look. Listen, decide.
• Look at competitive op placements vs ours. Educate me on the difference.
• Our competition training ISNT training. It's, "Let's play a last-minute scrim of a random conglomerate of people that don't usually play the comp match." It's not a "Consistent group of people assigned in the same roles, for the same reasons, over and over again." ---- There's zero effort toward the idea of recognizing our weaknesses, affirming those weaknesses, and working and building to change them. It's hey! it's another opportunity to play a little more aggressively! Let's Go!
• Tired of the butthurt after a loss. LBH nobody likes to lose. I'm tired of hearing such a whiny defeatism. If you can't accept a loss, if cannot take a loss and look how you can benefit... then this higher level of playing isn't for you.
• I'm tired of the idea of the concept of "airborne" this, "infantry" that. We are ALL CAV. It's time we recognize who's good where. It's also time, like Nori said...stop the the inclusivity. You have 260 TROOPERS. The battalion wants to throw a fit bc the most active individuals want to take things a little further but can't because the bottleneck is inclusivity vs consistency.
• It's time to consider that the current "comp practice" has seen its end. And it's time to take a different route bc what we've done has got us so far but is not allowing us to get further. Be the change. It's time to push game review. It's time to push dry runs on basics, line holding, lanes of control...etc. It's time to end the idea that there's the one-all-do-all "Doctrine" that wins every game because we haven't won with that doctrine "mindset" for about 5 months...or what, 6 matches?
• if you're given a command and you don't follow it, you're the problem. You're not a hero. So tired of the lack of discipline bc "you" think what you're doing is more beneficial.
• I'm frustrated with the amount of finger-pointing...Finger-pointing from individuals who DON'T SEE the big picture. If you're judging the commander's decision and refuse to put yourself there or understand why that call was made. Hush.
• Key AOs on the map were ignored.
• The center was where it was lost. And it wasn't lost when the point went down. It was lost when we continued to funnel in the same area, spawn after spawn after spawn.
• It's time to decide: Are you going to allow performance and consistency regarding placement for a comp match (bc that's what is necessary) or aren't you? And if we aren't going to do that bc we're more concerned about recruiting someone new, we're more concerned about inclusivity which at the same time we can't recognize that that is simultaneously our greatest strength as it is our greatest weakness: If that's the case, then it's time to hang up comp and it's time that BAT speaks on it. So frustrated that individuals completely disregard the thoughts and opinions of those who are ACTIVE.

 

[Silvis.B]

Element Callsign: Squad Lead
Element Leader: Sergeant Silvis.B
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Specialist Silvis.C
Specialist Donk.B
Private Lewis.P


Pros:

• Good squad cohesion
• Good squad movement and engagements

Cons:

• Poor execution of plan
• No fall back plan in case we loose mid points

 

[Richmond.DA]

Element Callsign: Armor TC
Element Leader: Corporal Richmond.DA
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Richmond.DA
First Sergeant Balazova.S
Specialist Choi.S
Pros:

• my tank was clearing AT guns and tanks as we could with the recon and med tank, also did our best with pushing with the light tank. Did a lot of work trying to hold hill 15 with personnel will they were all cleared out.

Cons:

• Markers on the map stayed longer than needed. tons of VC traffic and hard to hear between all personnel talking.

 

[Hood.D]

Element Callsign: Axis King Squad - Offensive Airborne
Element Leader: Specialist.Hood.D
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal.Ackerman.J

Pros -
-Aggressive attacking and shooting, was not passive in movement
-Callouts within squad and most of what I heard in command chat was on point; intel game good.
-Good flexing when needed

Cons -
-We couldn't secure hills South of Northpass and SW of Hill 15 to allow for offensive Airborne role.
-Intense enemy fire in AO prevented us from establishing red zone and some green zone garrisons.
-Command chat was crazy, but as an SL I need to not let it freeze me up and felt that me doing that negatively impacted my role.

 

[Bean.P]

Element Callsign: QRF - Axis
Element Leader: CPL.Bean. P
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
SPC. Felton
SPC.Feather
PFC. York



Pros:

Cons:

 

[Herber.R]

Element Callsign: Axis Able Squad Infantry Squad lead
Element Leader: Staff Sergeant Herber.R
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Macpherson.C
Sergeant Major Komar.T
Corporal Smith.N


Pros:

• Squad played well together
• Squad comms were good and informative
• Arty fire was great! Infantry was a bit slow on a shift fire order but was not catastrophic

Cons:

• No last-ditch command abilities (bombing run, strafing run, precision strike) on final point
• We lost center point and lost ALL team cohesion. Squads went quiet and started acting on their own.
• Airborne squad seemed to be ineffective being "too deep" in enemy territory. Along with airborne there was a recon tank that was near the enemy HQ.
• Inter squad cohesion seemed to be lacking (looking at myself as well)
• 24 FPZD ringers counted at end of match after people started to leave...

 

[Felton.J]

PROs:
we had good numbers show up

CONs:
- After we started to lose Northpass it seems like command panicked and had no real plan if we didn't take the mid point
-Armor was again showing zero aggression. They sat back 2 or 3 grids away while Allied armor had a very active role in supporting infantry pushes into hill 314 and northpass
-Trucks didn't leave on time and all took what seemed to be the same route. no diversity of strength when it comes to our front line, everyone hyper concentrated and it caused the entirety of the attack to be flanked from 2 sides
-absolute no offensive pressure after the midcap , we kept being pulled of to play defense then to set up a Garry then clear out a grid and etc. Absolutely no dedication to any strategy after that point.
- on defense there was what seemed like poor direction from command seeing as we seemed to ignore several key areas on 314. We allowed them to flank from ALL 4 sides and strangle us. it was an absolutely lost cause after that

All in all it was a poor showing from myself, We keep doing the same things, putting the same people in spots they aren't equipped to handle. Personally until there is a change in comp and passed off to those with newer/fresher ideas I will not be attending, despite the fun and joy I have within comp.

 

[James.M]

Element Callsign: Squad Lead (Baker)
Element Leader: First Lieutenant James.M
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Specialist Shaw.JW


Pros:

• Match was recorded
• Got to play with 7th Cav as a group
• a lot of work went into the preparation for this match

Cons:

• Map variant was perhaps not the best for the success of this team
• Losing the Mid-Point at start seems to yield consistent negative results in Comp Matches
• Could not control critical Zones because of the robust enemy presence on the high-ground to the West across the river
• Map layout on start was possibly worst outcome for losing the Middle Strongpoint

 

[Von Busch.M]

Element Callsign: Armor TC
Element Leader: Private First Class Von Busch.M
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Private First Class Von Busch.M
Corporal Leifried.R
Specialist Bas.D
Pros:

• Great communication trying to clear North Pass
• We were winning the fuel war before the loss of North Pass
• In the loss we learned a lot

Cons:

• Tank markers weren't on target or taken down after tanks demise, making it confusing trying to find tanks
• After we lost North Pass, felt like a constant losing battle

 

[Warren.G]

Element Callsign: Axis Commander
Element Leader: Corporal Warren.G
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:

Pros:

• Arty was effectively utilized
• We won the initial armor fight
• Very close to taking mid point

Cons:

• Last minute SL scratches and replacements led to an ineffective implementation of the plan that was agreed to by all SLs during planning.
• Command can't win gun fights for you
• We got pushed off the mid cap point and was unable to recover
• Defensive units struggled to maintain hard cap control
• Once northpass was lost we had ZERO front line assault. Their shooters were just better.

 

[Noriega.D]

Element Callsign: Axis Delta Squad - Defensive Airborne
Element Leader: Sergeant Noriega.D
7th Cavalry Personnel Within Element:
Corporal Moreau.M

Pros:

• My trooper and I did God's work on the rear
• We are making mistakes and learning from them
• Comms were good in game

Cons:

• Last minute SL scratches and replacements led to an ineffective implementation of the plan that was agreed to by all SLs during planning.
• We need a comp team and higher ups need to address this issue, guys want the APL but are unwilling to put in the work compared to other guys
• There is an air of WTF are we doing and our command needs to address the issue regarding the want to be more competitive and consequences to those that are less than serious about the move 7Cav wants to make....or do we just play the same clan to win over and over again....
• If anyone signs up, you are expected to know everything about the Op this being open to everyone on the fly is not working anymore in the comp scene
• The days of being laxed and inclusive is over imo when it comes to our want for a Competitive scene
• If these issue are not addressed it is my understanding guys will back out entirely from any comp team/scene
• If troopers are unwilling to be apart of the growing pains, then GTFO

 

[York.M]

1. At the start of the game no one knew who was supposed to be driving the trucks. Once again this led to a delayed deployment of guys onto the field. Everyone scrambled and we barely made an improvement from our previous internal scrimmage.

1. The truck my squad was in on the north HQ was stopped and dismounted EXTREMELY early by the driver. Below you can see the map that I pulled up to check our location. One of the several important reasons we lost the initial cap progress was, because we had no real manpower within the borders.

1. The above image also shows a supply drop being called in for a defensive point. That should never happen, because it does not help forward progress. That supply drop instead could've been used by my red circle to have the 1st garry place at an offensive position.
2. The supply truck is also massively out of position. The supply drop should've been called for a northern offensive garry while the supply truck should be a grid higher to control the hill top which is a massive power area. Then it could've gone south to build a flank garry to defend.
3. While the initial battle took place for north pass we had a strong response to a lackluster first move. I personally do not know where the initial arty shots were landing, but it did not have an effect on the battle. The artillery should've been dropping initially onto the Western intersection then proceed a path onto the corner house by the bridge which they held as a strong point to defend.

1. The above map was taken after some minutes from the cap. The enemy were able to take the hill/bunker area and held it for a significant time causing a massive hole into our line. The strengthened that hold with a garry and medium tank. That should've been a priority to capture.
2. As you can plainly see there is a MASSIVE amount of infantry that spawned at the middle garry in the forest. Barely any infantry north or on defensive points. Scar does not exist as a point so I don't know why it seemed there was such a large focus to pusht that way when we left a massive hole in our front line that ultimately let them do what they wanted. The yellow area just shows how much free ground they had.

1. I do not know how recon is taught, but a sniper should never be way in the back line. It is just useless a guy with a scope is picking off a small number of stragglers instead of helping flank the main offensive line, where they can inflict more enemy losses.
2. The map above shows 3 different squads and at least 7 spawned guys who instead of pushing north pass, while we were losing the hill, could have flanked the enemy from behind and broken their line.
3. The enemy tanks had a massive power difference due to their sniping position. Our tanks did not have to engage directly, but one heavy could've rotated northeast of scar on the hill and would have shot the 76s from the side and at least killed one, maybe two.

1. Another map showing a lot of people being out of position.

1. Still have people pushing North pass.

Overall there's massive discrepancies from the top down.

Commander never encouraged that entire match. Massive loss of resources
Used several abilities such as strafe run, and bombing run at improper times which caused a loss of resources and not having that ability for an opportune time.

Squad leaders need to be autonomous. A squad leader should not be waiting on the commander to be given orders. Squad leaders prior to the match should be categorized as offensive/flex/defense. That is their designated role. If needed due to situations the commander can give the order to switch. A squad should not be jumping between defending the back of point then trying to forward spawn on a flank. Squad leads should also take note of the guys they have in their squad. Know what your strengths and weaknesses are.

Infantry just need to listen to the leads and practice winning gun battles and learn game sense.

Tankers need to learn how to play for power positions. They also need to learn that after a certain point Light tanks are useless. It is better to spawn in as infantry when waiting for a tank to build repair stations or as a weight cap to help defense and/or offense. They also need to relay with infantry so they can also be building repair stations and communicating accurate tank marks.

This is all just my opinion from having just over 2k hours in the game and years worth of comp experience. I also have read the mix doctrine and I feel like that is good for pubbing or some events with lower end talent from other units, but that will never work in a competitive environment.


Thank you for your time, Love ya

 

[Rutkowski.P]

S1 Locked.

Assigned Fletcher.J for processing.

 

[Fletcher.J]

S1 Operations Processed.