WuWei
Elder Member
ASL 17 Lost Opportunities
Ste.-Mere-Eglise, France, 6 June 1944. I play the Americans and have to defend a village against a German (Georgians, but they are treated as Germans) counter attack. The Americans win if they control at least 5 buildings on board 1 at game end. I win immediately if the Germans have less than 9 unbroken squad-equivalents in play.
This is the setup:
I put two big dummy stacks to “block” the lower half of the map – or to scare the Germans into moving slow and carefully. But I also have a HIP squad with a bazooka in 1E1, for a nasty late game surprise. The mortar is in the top half and can cover the forest edge there. 4-1 with air burst and ROF 3 can be very effective. The gun covers the middle of the map. I was oblivious to the fact that the woods in 1C1 (and probably 2C1, too) is bypassable with vehicles. In hindsight, I would have placed the gun elsewhere, but it served a totally unintended role in this game where it was, so my ignorance was a blessing.
German turn 1:
The PFPh starts with the dream of every defender: The Marder tries to fire smoke, and rolled a 12. No smoke, broken gun. What a lovely day!
In the MPh, I defensive fire a lot and rolled quite low, but not low enough and the Germans pass every single morale check. I don't even manage to pin a single unit. (And with maybe half a dozen SANs don't get a single sniper.) But I keep ROF with the mortar, and continue to fire in the DFPh. I get an additional five shots before I lose ROF, and manage to break a squad and a leader, and pin another squad, and break another squad with inherent firepower.
My opponent advance into my dummy stacks, which are removed in the CCPh. My plan there hadn't worked, they didn't slow him down the slightest bit.
American turn 1:
In the top half of the map, everything is fine, but the bottom half looks not so good. Nothing critical yet, but I have to be careful.
In the RPh, the German crew manages to fix the Marder's gun – not good, not good. My mortar does nothing in the PFPh, a big disappointment! But the squad fires again with inherent firepower, lands a solid hit and the two German squads in 2B3 finally roll high for their MCs: 12 and 10. ELRs are really hurtful for the Germans!
I use spraying fire with the unconcealed squad and MMG in 1D4 (this might have been the first or second time I use spraying fire at all) against the concealed Germans and hope for a low roll, but it's a 10. No effect.
In the MPh, the concealed units in 1D4 assault move into the stone building, and those in 1F6 move to G6. Then, I make a big mistake: I move the squad with the MMG out of the foxhole and into the building in 1C7 – at least, I try it. As the squad leaves the safety of the foxhole, the Marder fires and misses, but the Germans in 2C9 have a clear LOS, too, that I totally overlooked, and break my squad. I should have fired with them, and advance later. The remaining squad+leader don't dare to move out of the foxhole after witnessing this debacle.
DFPh: The German kill stack in 2C2 fires a flat 20 at my mortar, for a K/4 with rate. The hs breaks, and the second shot pins the squad behind the first, thus stripping them of their concealment.
The rest doesn't do much.
German turn 2:
The situation is critical. My defense on the top is crumbling, and the bottom faces a vastly superior force. In the RPh, the Germans rally everything (one leader, 3 squads) in 2D3. But then: My 9-1 rallies the squad+MMG in 1C7, too. Now it's fair!
In the PFPh, the Marder hits with rate, but rolls high on the IFT. The second hit causes a 2MC, but my squad HOBs and becomes fanatic!
The German kill stack in 2C2 fires at the freshly rallied squad in 1C7, breaking it again – but that's ok, so they can't move this turn. But there are a lot of German units left, and they try to circle me. My fanatics in 2A4 break when they FPF at 2B3 – another mistake, since I could have fired my squad in 1D6 first. I fire them afterwards, and manage to break the German stack. But the situation now is critical:
The HS in 2A7 moves upwards. If the reach 1B7, they could capture 2 squads of mine and leave the 9-1 in a very bad situation. To prevent this, I sacrifice my concealment in 1F5, to no effect. The Germans reach 1B7, and I have no other option left than to reveal my AT gun. I fire the first shot with AP, knowing that I won't hit with it anyway (+6 for changing CA in building), but I retain ROF, and fire my second shot with HE. Unfortunately, the crew forgot to pack any, so I have to do with AP. I barely hit for an attack with 2FP, but roll a 4 for a 1MC, but the HS doesn't break.
There is more movement in the bottom half of the map, and I manage to break or eliminate a few more Germans. At this point, my opponent notices that he needs 9 or more unbroken squads on the board or loose the game immediately. After some counting, he assures me he has still 9.5 left, but it is close!
In my DFPh, I intensive fire the gun: It's the only chance I have to break the HS. And the dice are on my side: I roll a critical hit, for a 4-1 attack. It's a 1MC. The Germans have a morale of 7. And roll a 7! That was an incredibly tense moment, but with that HS gone, I'm inches away from winning!
American turn 2:
The Germans have exactly 9 unbroken squad equivalents on the board. They need to rally something fast, but in the RPh, they rally nothing. I rally nothing, either, and even suffer cr after a rolled 12, but this is my chance, now. I prep fire my gun for nothing, but then, my squad in 1D6 hits the Germans in 2A4, and they break. A win for the Americans!
This was a really tense game that was on a knife-edge for quite a while. If the Germans had rallied a squad or two (and a few additional ones in later turns), I probably would have lost, more so if I didn't land that critical hit on the HS that would have captured two of my squads. I still would have had my HIP squad in 1E1 for a last minute nasty surprise, but I don't think it would have been enough.
Ste.-Mere-Eglise, France, 6 June 1944. I play the Americans and have to defend a village against a German (Georgians, but they are treated as Germans) counter attack. The Americans win if they control at least 5 buildings on board 1 at game end. I win immediately if the Germans have less than 9 unbroken squad-equivalents in play.
This is the setup:
I put two big dummy stacks to “block” the lower half of the map – or to scare the Germans into moving slow and carefully. But I also have a HIP squad with a bazooka in 1E1, for a nasty late game surprise. The mortar is in the top half and can cover the forest edge there. 4-1 with air burst and ROF 3 can be very effective. The gun covers the middle of the map. I was oblivious to the fact that the woods in 1C1 (and probably 2C1, too) is bypassable with vehicles. In hindsight, I would have placed the gun elsewhere, but it served a totally unintended role in this game where it was, so my ignorance was a blessing.
German turn 1:
The PFPh starts with the dream of every defender: The Marder tries to fire smoke, and rolled a 12. No smoke, broken gun. What a lovely day!
In the MPh, I defensive fire a lot and rolled quite low, but not low enough and the Germans pass every single morale check. I don't even manage to pin a single unit. (And with maybe half a dozen SANs don't get a single sniper.) But I keep ROF with the mortar, and continue to fire in the DFPh. I get an additional five shots before I lose ROF, and manage to break a squad and a leader, and pin another squad, and break another squad with inherent firepower.
My opponent advance into my dummy stacks, which are removed in the CCPh. My plan there hadn't worked, they didn't slow him down the slightest bit.
American turn 1:
In the top half of the map, everything is fine, but the bottom half looks not so good. Nothing critical yet, but I have to be careful.
In the RPh, the German crew manages to fix the Marder's gun – not good, not good. My mortar does nothing in the PFPh, a big disappointment! But the squad fires again with inherent firepower, lands a solid hit and the two German squads in 2B3 finally roll high for their MCs: 12 and 10. ELRs are really hurtful for the Germans!
I use spraying fire with the unconcealed squad and MMG in 1D4 (this might have been the first or second time I use spraying fire at all) against the concealed Germans and hope for a low roll, but it's a 10. No effect.
In the MPh, the concealed units in 1D4 assault move into the stone building, and those in 1F6 move to G6. Then, I make a big mistake: I move the squad with the MMG out of the foxhole and into the building in 1C7 – at least, I try it. As the squad leaves the safety of the foxhole, the Marder fires and misses, but the Germans in 2C9 have a clear LOS, too, that I totally overlooked, and break my squad. I should have fired with them, and advance later. The remaining squad+leader don't dare to move out of the foxhole after witnessing this debacle.
DFPh: The German kill stack in 2C2 fires a flat 20 at my mortar, for a K/4 with rate. The hs breaks, and the second shot pins the squad behind the first, thus stripping them of their concealment.
The rest doesn't do much.
German turn 2:
The situation is critical. My defense on the top is crumbling, and the bottom faces a vastly superior force. In the RPh, the Germans rally everything (one leader, 3 squads) in 2D3. But then: My 9-1 rallies the squad+MMG in 1C7, too. Now it's fair!
In the PFPh, the Marder hits with rate, but rolls high on the IFT. The second hit causes a 2MC, but my squad HOBs and becomes fanatic!
The German kill stack in 2C2 fires at the freshly rallied squad in 1C7, breaking it again – but that's ok, so they can't move this turn. But there are a lot of German units left, and they try to circle me. My fanatics in 2A4 break when they FPF at 2B3 – another mistake, since I could have fired my squad in 1D6 first. I fire them afterwards, and manage to break the German stack. But the situation now is critical:
The HS in 2A7 moves upwards. If the reach 1B7, they could capture 2 squads of mine and leave the 9-1 in a very bad situation. To prevent this, I sacrifice my concealment in 1F5, to no effect. The Germans reach 1B7, and I have no other option left than to reveal my AT gun. I fire the first shot with AP, knowing that I won't hit with it anyway (+6 for changing CA in building), but I retain ROF, and fire my second shot with HE. Unfortunately, the crew forgot to pack any, so I have to do with AP. I barely hit for an attack with 2FP, but roll a 4 for a 1MC, but the HS doesn't break.
There is more movement in the bottom half of the map, and I manage to break or eliminate a few more Germans. At this point, my opponent notices that he needs 9 or more unbroken squads on the board or loose the game immediately. After some counting, he assures me he has still 9.5 left, but it is close!
In my DFPh, I intensive fire the gun: It's the only chance I have to break the HS. And the dice are on my side: I roll a critical hit, for a 4-1 attack. It's a 1MC. The Germans have a morale of 7. And roll a 7! That was an incredibly tense moment, but with that HS gone, I'm inches away from winning!
American turn 2:
The Germans have exactly 9 unbroken squad equivalents on the board. They need to rally something fast, but in the RPh, they rally nothing. I rally nothing, either, and even suffer cr after a rolled 12, but this is my chance, now. I prep fire my gun for nothing, but then, my squad in 1D6 hits the Germans in 2A4, and they break. A win for the Americans!
This was a really tense game that was on a knife-edge for quite a while. If the Germans had rallied a squad or two (and a few additional ones in later turns), I probably would have lost, more so if I didn't land that critical hit on the HS that would have captured two of my squads. I still would have had my HIP squad in 1E1 for a last minute nasty surprise, but I don't think it would have been enough.
