#49 The Closer

Jazz

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A question regarding the EVP VC.....how many EVP would a Canadian prisoner squad earn for the German?
 

Paul_RS

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6 turns max, you will not get all your infantry off, or anywhere near against a decent Canadian set up. Lose your tanks as the German, lose the game. If you cross the stream with your infantry that’s 2 movement phases. You could risk running over the bridge but bore sighted hexes and fire lanes make that a near suicidal option, unless you clear the way first and that takes time. As the German you won’t be doing much prep fire that’s for sure. We played this yesterday and the Canadians won by 1 point.

cheers

Paul
 

BattleSchool

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Played this back in June. Built up German forces slowly using Assault Movement on either side of bottom bridge, with small feint along top of board. Broke out on Turn 3, pushing hard over (bottom) bridge with AC and Tiger leading. 10-2 and PIAT team guarded bottom bridge. Took some time to isolate and overcome. Panther immobilized on BT3 (or GT4). German numbers overwhelmed defenders around bottom bridge, in part because they only faced two Shermans. Firefly was late to party. Probing force along top of board got lucky and bagged a Sherm. Canadians threw in towel on Turn 4 (possibly GT5).

Tricky for both sides. Germans really have to hustle beginning GT3. But VC discourages throwing units away willy-nilly. So need to balance tight timeline with force conservation.

Canadians need to adjust defence accordingly before GT3. Hard to judge where and when to commit Firefly. Think it needs to begin play on/beside road where it can reach one of two or three preferred firing positions in one MPh.

Think German game plan comes down to destroying as many Canadian tanks as possible while conserving own forces and exiting one or two AFV. (Puma and Panther are best candidates due to their speed, so don't throw away AC.) Consider any Infantry that exit a bonus. Lose a couple AFV early, and it could be game over for Germans. So get up and close and personal with PF and PSK, and baby your cats.
 

Paul_RS

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Played this back in June. Built up German forces slowly using Assault Movement on either side of bottom bridge, with small feint along top of board. Broke out on Turn 3, pushing hard over (bottom) bridge with AC and Tiger leading. 10-2 and PIAT team guarded bottom bridge. Took some time to isolate and overcome. Panther immobilized on BT3 (or GT4). German numbers overwhelmed defenders around bottom bridge, in part because they only faced two Shermans. Firefly was late to party. Probing force along top of board got lucky and bagged a Sherm. Canadians threw in towel on Turn 4 (possibly GT5).

Tricky for both sides. Germans really have to hustle beginning GT3. But VC discourages throwing units away willy-nilly. So need to balance tight timeline with force conservation.

Canadians need to adjust defence accordingly before GT3. Hard to judge where and when to commit Firefly. Think it needs to begin play on/beside road where it can reach one of two or three preferred firing positions in one MPh.

Think German game plan comes down to destroying as many Canadian tanks as possible while conserving own forces and exiting one or two AFV. (Puma and Panther are best candidates due to their speed, so don't throw away AC.) Consider any Infantry that exit a bonus. Lose a couple AFV early, and it could be game over for Germans. So get up and close and personal with PF and PSK, and baby your cats.
I actually destroyed three Canadian tanks, including the Firefly, but not before it took out my Panther, including armour leader, hull down, behind the Bocage with an intensive fire shot. My Puma was hit by a PIAT after a Canadian half squad withdrew following a successful ambush roll. My Tiger bogged in the Stream and I lost a turn there. It made a mad dash, crew exposed, to exit on the last turn, along the road. But my squads, who could have exited, for a victory, were decimated by a 2 RFP at -1. Consistently low attack rolls and high MC/PTCs sealed my doom as the squads piled up broken or pinned.
 

JoeArthur

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It's tough on the Canadians. My playing the Firefly rolled boxcars on its first shot. Then a six on the repair roll. A Sherman got a few shots then rolled boxcars and a six on the repair roll. I conceded.

One thing that did crop up was the Shermans could put WP into the gully hex where the Germans will probably be on turn 1:

A2.8, A6.3, B20.9 - May a unit fire at a Depression hex if they have LOS to the crest level of the hex, but no LOS INTO the Depression hex in the following situations: A) The hex is devoid of non-HIP units? B) The hex has a non-HIP unit IN the Depression, but no non-HIP unit at crest level?
A. Yes to both; only units at crest level would be affected (other than for WP). If the answer to situation B is yes, then would the following also be true for that situation: 1) Would a unit firing Smoke/WP be subject to the +2 Case K DRM to the TH DR? 2) If a hit is obtained with Smoke/WP would it rise from the level of the Depression? 3) Would a WP hit cause the non-HIP unit IN the Depression to take a WP NMC?

A. Yes to all three.
 

Paul_RS

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It's tough on the Canadians. My playing the Firefly rolled boxcars on its first shot. Then a six on the repair roll. A Sherman got a few shots then rolled boxcars and a six on the repair roll. I conceded.

One thing that did crop up was the Shermans could put WP into the gully hex where the Germans will probably be on turn 1:

A2.8, A6.3, B20.9 - May a unit fire at a Depression hex if they have LOS to the crest level of the hex, but no LOS INTO the Depression hex in the following situations: A) The hex is devoid of non-HIP units? B) The hex has a non-HIP unit IN the Depression, but no non-HIP unit at crest level?
A. Yes to both; only units at crest level would be affected (other than for WP). If the answer to situation B is yes, then would the following also be true for that situation: 1) Would a unit firing Smoke/WP be subject to the +2 Case K DRM to the TH DR? 2) If a hit is obtained with Smoke/WP would it rise from the level of the Depression? 3) Would a WP hit cause the non-HIP unit IN the Depression to take a WP NMC?

A. Yes to all three.
There’s a similar example in the excellent bocage article in the BFP 2 Cobra mag. Hitting entrenched units behind a bocage hex with WP.
 

BattleSchool

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One thing that did crop up was the Shermans could put WP into the gully hex where the Germans will probably be on turn 1:
That's a low-odds shot (~18% if BU). Sure, it might mess with German plans. And with no other suitable targets, why not?

Well, it'd suck if the shot triggered a Sniper and Recalled a CE Sherman, or found the 10-2. Not that that is ever going to happen when I've got the Jerries.
 
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