The End
Ah, the craziness.
To obtain victory, the New Zealanders had to take Pyrgos, Maleme, 2 other stone buildings and to that add 3 of the gunpits around the airfield. With the village of Pyrgos mopped up, the Maoris left their German prisoners in the hands of the Cretan irregulars and rushed optimistically towards the airfield. Then the German sniper awoke.
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Bang! The Cretan HS in Pyrgos gets whacked by the sniper, broken. The prisoners get restless and a few start to attack their guards. The New Zealanders send back a squad, Maoris this time, to corral the prisoners. As they enter Pyrgos the scream of a Stuka pins them flat. A following ME-109 finishes the job. The prisoners take heart and after a few turns dispatch their guards, rearm and start taking back possession of the village! More Maoris arrive and in desperate hand-to-hand fighting run down and eliminate the German escapees, retaking enough of the town to get victory. But a full platoon has been taken out of the fight for the airfield.
At the airfield, the New Zealanders race the arriving German reinforcements. It’s slow going for the Maoris, as they scramble through the damnable vineyards and over rock walls. The tiny blocking force of Cretans north of the airfield is swept aside and further Junkers land closer to the vital gunpits.
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Strongly led rifle fire from the New Zealanders breaks two of the gun crews and headlong rushes from a couple brave half-squads finish the job, taking two gunpits and silencing the AA guns. The fighting gets desperate, with German Junkers crash-landing right at the end of the airfield, taking heavy casualties on the hard tarmac of the airfield. Finally, the Maoris get sick of the slow-going through the vineyards. Led by their company commander, they throw smoke grenades and rush straight up the road towards the last gunpit and crew. But the German fire is too intense. Well positioned infantry supports the gunners and stops the New Zealanders cold, just meters from the final gunpit. Maleme airfield will remain in German hands, at least for today…
Well, that’s the “dramatized” version. And it was dramatic. Snipers, Stukas and Prisoners conspired to win the airfield for the Germans. Up on the hill, however, it was over by turn 11. The fire from the 9-2/HMG was just too much and even non-DM leaders and squads just wouldn’t rally. The platoon from Maleme tried to take the backdoor to the hill. Trouble was the backdoor was in the house directly adjacent to the 9-2/HMG. Well placed reverse-slope entrenchments, one with an upslope position that allowed fire over the crest of the hill, made taking the hill impossible. The New Zealanders only took 4 of the 18 required hexes and it wasn’t close.
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Analysis:
New Zealander:
Lack of long-range support weapons was really felt. There’s a lot of map and on the hill especially, the NZ has to fire long-range up through orchards at entrenched 8-morale troops. Tough.
I misplayed the 81mm mortar, the most potent weapon the NZ infantry has. Instead of entering from the SW edge to support a limited attack on Hill 107 by 2 platoons, it should have entered the SE edge and set up on the lower level three hill, in G47. From there it could have seen a good bit of Hill 107 and much of the German defenses. Smoke and HE could have supported a more general attack.
Also, poor attack plan on the hill. NZ should have immediately gone for eliminating the blocking force on the lower hill while having the advantages of night, and then attacked en mass up the big hill, supported by the aforementioned mortar. Instead, I tried to bypass the blocking force, tie them up while a limited attack went up the hill. Bad plan.
The tanks are great. 17 FP in overrun. They should come on and not expend a stop MP until they are on the hill. Overrun everything on the lower hill and then do same on the upper hill. I was just getting the hang of that when I lost one to a Stuka and another to a lucky MG shot. Last one fell to an ATR after cresting the hill and stimulating the only successful push the NZ had.
The artillery is practically useless, being full strength only in the center hex of the FFE and not having Smoke. It was even more useless how I used it. Should have gone on the hill to at least provide an extra hindrance on the defenders and maybe get a lucky hit. Also could be nice to interdict the landing Junkers if not needed elsewhere.
German:
If the Germans try to stand up to the Maoris in the night attack on Pyrgos they will be massacred, which is what happened in this playing. Maoris are Stealthy and have a -1 in H-t-H, are led by a 10-2 and 9-2 and the Germans are Lax at night. No chance. The German should stack at least two, maybe three squads w/their best leader far back from the NZ entry areas and try to get Freedom of Movement by rolling below his ELR (4). This might save a platoon that can block or slow down the Maori advance on the airfield. The church is a good place for a to-the-last-man stand, with a HS/lmg up the steeple to impede the NZ advance. There’s even a cemetery out back for easy burial afterwards.
The lower hill is tougher for the German because he has to spread out to cover the ground, but can’t stand up to the NZ with only one squad against groups of three in CC. A fighting withdrawal is tough in this territory, but is the way to go. Covering the SW NZ entry area is key and the stone walled enclosure the best position.
The German defense of the airfield is pretty much established by the setup instructions and everything else depends on the reinforcements getting there before the Maoris and holding on. Plan well, because you don’t want to cross the airfield with the -1 Boulevard modifier.
Overall:
We felt the scenario is a little pro-German, despite the Maoris’ advantages.
The defense for the German, like in most of the OM scenarios is a little static. Especially on the hill, it’s hold your ground and fire away. The Junkers add some excitement at the end game, as do the Stukas.
The rules for the Air Landing are simple and easy. It’s unclear though what to do about wind….when there IS no wind. The scenario starts with a Mild Breeze but that ended immediately. You still have to determine wind direction for the plane landings, but it’s unclear if you do so every player turn, every game turn, or just once and then it remains the same for the rest of game??? The is very important because the planes must land into the wind or suffer a +2 crash dr modifier. The German lost at least a squad if not more, to crash CR. We rolled every turn to determine wind direction for the planes, but, while fair in game terms, in retrospect that seems unrealistic that the wind would change direction so often in such a short time.
Regardless of the quality of the scenario or how play unfolds, the map is a beauty and a total pleasure to play on. And the diversity of this scenario, with the separate night attack on the village, hill attack/defense, airfield attack/defense, air support, air landing, tanks, irregulars and crazy terrain, makes for lots of possible fun moments and tactical puzzles.
Operation Merkur 7, Too Little Too Light: Highly Recommend
