Sgt. Schmutz and I go at it again, this time in the streets of western France about two months post-D-Day.
SS and I had originally planned to do Storming the Factory next, but he'd called my attention to this one some time before that, and we both decided to give the Eastern Front a rest so that we could tackle this one. SS also gave me the option of sides; I liked either, but I'm a sucker for cool toys and the Americans have them in this one, so...
The Americans start off in a relatively constrictive section of boards b and d. This makes for some tough choices, setup-wise, and forces the clever American player to come up with some clever setup stratagems that will facilitate movement early on. If I ever become that clever person I will certainly share them with you, in the meantime I satisfied myself with setting up such that I had a lot of FP directly opposite the Germans, and hoped to use that FP in an effort to break or Pin anyone I might be so fortunate as to lay a glove on.
Recognizing that my goal is to eventually get into and own all the GL Locations of aJ1, I also picked out some likely avenues for movement on the first turn. I chose the gully on board b as that avenue for the cover it provides, and hoped that SS would not deploy any of the 16 Wire counters he is given as a means of impeding that progress.
Turn 1 therefore sees me start the game with a lot of Prep, directed mostly across the street at Concealed units. I break the squad holding an LMG which is also directed by the 10-2 leader, having fired on it with 2 6-6-7s who are holding between them an MMG and HMG and are directed by my 9-2. Break for the German squad, good news there. Otherwise...
Have to get the ball rolling, though. That building won't take itself. I maneuver up the Gully, and run afoul of a 4-4-7 that I thought was a Dummy stack. Turns out that it wasn't. 8 flat shot generates a 1MC that everyone (including the 9-1 leading the effort) fails. I should mention at this point that my luck with the Americans has always been substandard at best, when it comes to passing MC, TC, etc. This goes all the way back to my SL days, and the first time I used Amis against the Germans. 40 years on, and some things never change as this is not the first time the Americans will fold like well-used maps when confronted with an enemy armed with so much as a picture of a gun.
The Americans do manage to push forward, just the same; and the Turn 1 reinforcements are quick to join the leading edge of the battle. The M 12 posts itself at the fore, ready to dish out some 155mm loving to any German who might grow too attached to the building he is in. Why this is a good idea is obvious, why it's not becomes manifest during American Defensive Fire of Turn 1, when the Amis attempt to dislodge some stubborn Germans in building and roll a '5' for the shot. I'll point out here that '5' is the German SAN, and that in this case the Sniper Activates on a '1' and guess who he picks out as the target? Cool Toy #1 (the M 12) lasts less than a full Turn, as the Sniper kills the crew and forces the GMC to Recall. Sigh...
Cool Toy #2 (a FT) rolls cars on another shot and goes the way of the GMC in the same DFF. In the south, the Germans show an 8-0, a 6-6-7 holding a BAZ, and a 6-6-6 a picture of a gun and say Boo! really loud, breaking all three units. My advance is going to go nowhere at top speed with dice like this.
Turn 2 brings better news, as I manage to keep the 10-2 and his FG suppressed. I Rally fairly quickly as well, and maneuver myself to put the Germans on their back foot in a couple of places, while also bringing pressure to bear in the south as I maneuver two MMG stacks forward. One of them breaks a 2-3-8 HS. German ? is good enough to ward off American Prep, but the Amis are closing and one of the big problems for the Germans in this one begins to make itself manifest.
The defenders start out with 14 squads ( 9 5-4-8s and 5 4-4-7s), the attackers start out with 25 squads (6-6-7s and 6-6-6s). That's a lot of attackers, and the defenders can be over a barrel quickly if the attackers break more than a few defenders. The Germans can also be put in a bad way if they start to take casualties, something that happens in the CCPh of American Turn 2 when a 6-6-6 Advances into a hex containing a 4-4-7 and Ambushes it. I elect to go HTH, and drop the German squad before it can attack back.
This is significant not only because I win a CC at no cost to myself, but because it also tilts an already-delicate numbers situation in my favor. Before the CC I had 25 squads to SS' 14. Now I have 25 to his 13, and I only need to drop another before I have a ratio of 2:1 in squads over him. Put another way, if we were to trade even for the rest of the game, I'd still come out 12 squads ahead and he'd have nobody (except for two Guns and a dug-in AFV).
I should point out too that the Amis Rally pretty quickly, and are back in the fight with gratifying (or disturbing, depending on your point of view) alacrity. The platoon that was put down in the south comes roaring back and breaks (for an ELR) the Germans holding the MMG. I should mention as well that Ami Assault Fire is a beautiful thing.
So there we are at the end of Turn 2. The attached images illustrate where each side stands. The Americans must put pressure on the Germans and force a penetration of their lines in the next couple of Turns, something they can do if the Germans will oblige and break (or if nothing else, Pin) in the next Turn or so.
If they do not, and/or if they inflict a lot more breaks (or CR, or worse) on the Americans, it's going to be a long day for the good guys. Stay tuned, this one's just getting started.
BD
SS and I had originally planned to do Storming the Factory next, but he'd called my attention to this one some time before that, and we both decided to give the Eastern Front a rest so that we could tackle this one. SS also gave me the option of sides; I liked either, but I'm a sucker for cool toys and the Americans have them in this one, so...
The Americans start off in a relatively constrictive section of boards b and d. This makes for some tough choices, setup-wise, and forces the clever American player to come up with some clever setup stratagems that will facilitate movement early on. If I ever become that clever person I will certainly share them with you, in the meantime I satisfied myself with setting up such that I had a lot of FP directly opposite the Germans, and hoped to use that FP in an effort to break or Pin anyone I might be so fortunate as to lay a glove on.
Recognizing that my goal is to eventually get into and own all the GL Locations of aJ1, I also picked out some likely avenues for movement on the first turn. I chose the gully on board b as that avenue for the cover it provides, and hoped that SS would not deploy any of the 16 Wire counters he is given as a means of impeding that progress.
Turn 1 therefore sees me start the game with a lot of Prep, directed mostly across the street at Concealed units. I break the squad holding an LMG which is also directed by the 10-2 leader, having fired on it with 2 6-6-7s who are holding between them an MMG and HMG and are directed by my 9-2. Break for the German squad, good news there. Otherwise...
Have to get the ball rolling, though. That building won't take itself. I maneuver up the Gully, and run afoul of a 4-4-7 that I thought was a Dummy stack. Turns out that it wasn't. 8 flat shot generates a 1MC that everyone (including the 9-1 leading the effort) fails. I should mention at this point that my luck with the Americans has always been substandard at best, when it comes to passing MC, TC, etc. This goes all the way back to my SL days, and the first time I used Amis against the Germans. 40 years on, and some things never change as this is not the first time the Americans will fold like well-used maps when confronted with an enemy armed with so much as a picture of a gun.
The Americans do manage to push forward, just the same; and the Turn 1 reinforcements are quick to join the leading edge of the battle. The M 12 posts itself at the fore, ready to dish out some 155mm loving to any German who might grow too attached to the building he is in. Why this is a good idea is obvious, why it's not becomes manifest during American Defensive Fire of Turn 1, when the Amis attempt to dislodge some stubborn Germans in building and roll a '5' for the shot. I'll point out here that '5' is the German SAN, and that in this case the Sniper Activates on a '1' and guess who he picks out as the target? Cool Toy #1 (the M 12) lasts less than a full Turn, as the Sniper kills the crew and forces the GMC to Recall. Sigh...
Cool Toy #2 (a FT) rolls cars on another shot and goes the way of the GMC in the same DFF. In the south, the Germans show an 8-0, a 6-6-7 holding a BAZ, and a 6-6-6 a picture of a gun and say Boo! really loud, breaking all three units. My advance is going to go nowhere at top speed with dice like this.
Turn 2 brings better news, as I manage to keep the 10-2 and his FG suppressed. I Rally fairly quickly as well, and maneuver myself to put the Germans on their back foot in a couple of places, while also bringing pressure to bear in the south as I maneuver two MMG stacks forward. One of them breaks a 2-3-8 HS. German ? is good enough to ward off American Prep, but the Amis are closing and one of the big problems for the Germans in this one begins to make itself manifest.
The defenders start out with 14 squads ( 9 5-4-8s and 5 4-4-7s), the attackers start out with 25 squads (6-6-7s and 6-6-6s). That's a lot of attackers, and the defenders can be over a barrel quickly if the attackers break more than a few defenders. The Germans can also be put in a bad way if they start to take casualties, something that happens in the CCPh of American Turn 2 when a 6-6-6 Advances into a hex containing a 4-4-7 and Ambushes it. I elect to go HTH, and drop the German squad before it can attack back.
This is significant not only because I win a CC at no cost to myself, but because it also tilts an already-delicate numbers situation in my favor. Before the CC I had 25 squads to SS' 14. Now I have 25 to his 13, and I only need to drop another before I have a ratio of 2:1 in squads over him. Put another way, if we were to trade even for the rest of the game, I'd still come out 12 squads ahead and he'd have nobody (except for two Guns and a dug-in AFV).
I should point out too that the Amis Rally pretty quickly, and are back in the fight with gratifying (or disturbing, depending on your point of view) alacrity. The platoon that was put down in the south comes roaring back and breaks (for an ELR) the Germans holding the MMG. I should mention as well that Ami Assault Fire is a beautiful thing.
So there we are at the end of Turn 2. The attached images illustrate where each side stands. The Americans must put pressure on the Germans and force a penetration of their lines in the next couple of Turns, something they can do if the Germans will oblige and break (or if nothing else, Pin) in the next Turn or so.
If they do not, and/or if they inflict a lot more breaks (or CR, or worse) on the Americans, it's going to be a long day for the good guys. Stay tuned, this one's just getting started.
BD
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