Jplott94
Member
S15 Hammer to the Teeth AAR Date of Scenario: 16 Dec 1944
Attacker (German) Craig Renier
Defender (American) Jon Plott
Date of Playing: 24 Aug 2020
What started off as a runaway for the Germans became a slugfest that went down to the last turn of the game! Fellow DC Conscript recruit Craig R was my opponent this evening, and we wanted an SK#2 scenario that featured Ordnance so we could learn a bit more about the mechanics of the TH/TK process and incorporate those capabilities into our respective battle plans. The German OB had an 81mm mortar (with useful HE and Smoke factors) to support his attack; the Yanks had 2x57mm AT guns that were not well suited for fending off an infantry assault.
Craig’s force was the attacking Germans in a scenario from the first days of the Battle of the Bulge. My units were drawn from the infamous 106th Infantry Division (they did not do to well in that particular campaign) trying to stem the German advance. Suffice it to say the game pretty much followed the historical precedent.
Craig got the first move, crowded his right flank with a huge kill stack (3 squads, 3 MGs and a 9-1 leader; 24 FP!!) and after 2 turns, shattered my defenses in front of it. As the Amis had 2 HIP guns, he advanced his infantry deliberately, without taking any undue risks. With my left flank pretty much gone, and my center positions starting to wilt from the constant fire of the kill stack, I was actually wondering if I would be conceding the game before my Yank reinforcements arrived in the bottom of Turn 3. But the reinforcements DID arrive pretty much exactly when and where they were needed and wound up shoring up my left until the last German PFPh in Turn 7.
The Artillery, which was the main reason Craig and I chose this scenario, was a bit of a bust. Craig got three shots off with his single German mortar before it malfunctioned in Turn 2, and it finally Broke hard (X6 off the board hard) late in the game. The Yank AT guns did not affect the German assault through fire attacks as much as their hidden presence did, but the crews acquitted themselves quite well in CC and self-rallies until the final turn and a half. The Bazooka/PanzerSchreck fires were only marginally effective in this scenario.
Craig maintained a steady pressure against the the left, right and center American positions with his well conducted German infantry assaults, and while my Americans did not collapse in dramatic fashion (they came close a couple of times), they certainly crumbled once Craig amassed his force for the last drive on the remaining VC positions. Casualties, as in squads off the board was 3 to 1 in the Germans favor for the game, and, of the five S/MMC counters the Americans had left in game, 4 were broken. Victory to Craig and his Germans! Great game, great Scenario, and not a whole lot of sleep last night!
Attacker (German) Craig Renier
Defender (American) Jon Plott
Date of Playing: 24 Aug 2020
What started off as a runaway for the Germans became a slugfest that went down to the last turn of the game! Fellow DC Conscript recruit Craig R was my opponent this evening, and we wanted an SK#2 scenario that featured Ordnance so we could learn a bit more about the mechanics of the TH/TK process and incorporate those capabilities into our respective battle plans. The German OB had an 81mm mortar (with useful HE and Smoke factors) to support his attack; the Yanks had 2x57mm AT guns that were not well suited for fending off an infantry assault.
Craig’s force was the attacking Germans in a scenario from the first days of the Battle of the Bulge. My units were drawn from the infamous 106th Infantry Division (they did not do to well in that particular campaign) trying to stem the German advance. Suffice it to say the game pretty much followed the historical precedent.
Craig got the first move, crowded his right flank with a huge kill stack (3 squads, 3 MGs and a 9-1 leader; 24 FP!!) and after 2 turns, shattered my defenses in front of it. As the Amis had 2 HIP guns, he advanced his infantry deliberately, without taking any undue risks. With my left flank pretty much gone, and my center positions starting to wilt from the constant fire of the kill stack, I was actually wondering if I would be conceding the game before my Yank reinforcements arrived in the bottom of Turn 3. But the reinforcements DID arrive pretty much exactly when and where they were needed and wound up shoring up my left until the last German PFPh in Turn 7.
The Artillery, which was the main reason Craig and I chose this scenario, was a bit of a bust. Craig got three shots off with his single German mortar before it malfunctioned in Turn 2, and it finally Broke hard (X6 off the board hard) late in the game. The Yank AT guns did not affect the German assault through fire attacks as much as their hidden presence did, but the crews acquitted themselves quite well in CC and self-rallies until the final turn and a half. The Bazooka/PanzerSchreck fires were only marginally effective in this scenario.
Craig maintained a steady pressure against the the left, right and center American positions with his well conducted German infantry assaults, and while my Americans did not collapse in dramatic fashion (they came close a couple of times), they certainly crumbled once Craig amassed his force for the last drive on the remaining VC positions. Casualties, as in squads off the board was 3 to 1 in the Germans favor for the game, and, of the five S/MMC counters the Americans had left in game, 4 were broken. Victory to Craig and his Germans! Great game, great Scenario, and not a whole lot of sleep last night!
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