gorkowskij
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2020
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- 163
- Reaction score
- 504
- Country
242 Swan Song (formerly A52)
This grudge fest features a French infantry-armor mass trudging forward through orchards and a graveyard against a torrent of fire from outnumbered, but well-equipped, Germans ensconced in a hamlet. The end result is a “numbers game” in which the huge French force steadily erodes, but also makes many low odds attack dice rolls, some of which will inevitably come up “lucky.” In other words, with so many rolls, you will witness multiple “rare” events, and we did.
French R35s approached the hamlet in three pairs, one from the east (19I10), one from the southeast (19A5), and one from the south (19A1). Two German 37mm ATGs fired from the orchards east of the hamlet (19N2 and T2) to shock one tank that later recovered. The one functioning east-side Renault fired main armament and scored an improbable critical hit (snake eyes followed by a subsequent 1) to kill one German ATG! The Germans kept firing. Mortars in the eastern orchard immobilized an east-side R35. The remaining 37mm swiveled to kill a southern R35 around 12FF5.
French infantry entered on turn two in two mobs, one along the east edge (around 19K10) with about six squads, MMGs, mortar, and radio, and the other along the south edge (19A1-5) with about 15 squads and LMGs. They kept to the vast blind zone created by the sprawling orchards. A German MG at the southern tip of the graveyard (12Y3) could see them, but broke early and had to flee north to the church (the three hex building just north of the graveyard). French Renaults failed their “radio-less” independent move checks and/or fired on distant German targets to no effect.
By turn three, French infantry started creeping up to the graveyard. MGs on the 2nd level of 12 R2 (the eastern high rise) and 12V4 (church overlooking the graveyard) started smacking French squads with rate. This went on for a few turns to gradually whittle down French manpower and confine the eastern force to the board edge woods (19O10) where German harassing fire (OBA) landed, but did little more than enforce desperation morale status. Isolated French tanks kept failing their move checks.
A French tank and infantry platoon made it into the graveyard. A nearby German 8-0 (12V2) successfully placed a satchel charge to brew up the R35 whose billowing smoke provided some cover for the French still closing on the yard. At about the same time, a French half squad among the tombstones spawned a hero who led his tiny force into the church (12V4) where they defeated three times their own number in close combat! The German spotter in 12S5 L2 brought OBA down on its preregistered hex at 12AA1 to smother a French rally point; dozens of frustrated Poilus gave up the fight as their broken squads crumbled to half squads or worse.
Around turn six came a company of behemoth Char B1-bis from the south (16GG1-GG5). The lone Renault around 12FF5 (who had earlier lost his partner to ATG fire and was since hiding behind a building) tried to lead their charge against the German 88mm FLAK on the church-side dirt road at 12V7, but MG fire from 12R2 L2 decapitated the CE commander to stop their stunt cold. Unconcerned, the B1s sailed across the landscape toward the mighty 88. The FLAK gun fired and hit with rate, but it was dud! The 88 fired again to brew up one of the B1s, but lost rate. The five surviving B1s pulled within a few hexes of the gun (12V9-X9 area) and stayed in motion as their only defense against its coming prep fire phase. On a lark, the nearest B1 tried an in-motion, advance fire phase, MA shot at the 88. Of course, the French scored another improbable critical hit to vaporize the 88 and its crew!
Soon after, those French heavies stormed the village firing relentlessly at adjacent Germans to invoke that scenario special rule calling for morale checks even on otherwise fruitless IFT attacks from adjacent tanks. Concealed Germans bobbed and weaved to avoid substantial hits while those unconcealed, and mostly on 2nd level, fired into advancing French infantry to slow them down. A blast of German artillery killed two tanks, one R35 and one B1, just outside the church. The pivotal German 12R2 L2 HMG position broke and fled, but the leader soon returned on his own as a hero. Too bad he twice failed to recover the HMG as the French footmen closed in around him. Still, he did kill a French berserker (like I said, lots of rare events) with same-hex triple point blank fire before those that followed clocked him in close combat. Meanwhile, a German mortar did the French a favor by killing an immobilized B1, had it survived, stuck there on the battlefield, it would have upped the French VP location requirement.
In the end, the French captured 11 of 12 VP locations, just enough to win since they had not exited any B1s, four of six remained functioning on the board.
This grudge fest features a French infantry-armor mass trudging forward through orchards and a graveyard against a torrent of fire from outnumbered, but well-equipped, Germans ensconced in a hamlet. The end result is a “numbers game” in which the huge French force steadily erodes, but also makes many low odds attack dice rolls, some of which will inevitably come up “lucky.” In other words, with so many rolls, you will witness multiple “rare” events, and we did.
French R35s approached the hamlet in three pairs, one from the east (19I10), one from the southeast (19A5), and one from the south (19A1). Two German 37mm ATGs fired from the orchards east of the hamlet (19N2 and T2) to shock one tank that later recovered. The one functioning east-side Renault fired main armament and scored an improbable critical hit (snake eyes followed by a subsequent 1) to kill one German ATG! The Germans kept firing. Mortars in the eastern orchard immobilized an east-side R35. The remaining 37mm swiveled to kill a southern R35 around 12FF5.
French infantry entered on turn two in two mobs, one along the east edge (around 19K10) with about six squads, MMGs, mortar, and radio, and the other along the south edge (19A1-5) with about 15 squads and LMGs. They kept to the vast blind zone created by the sprawling orchards. A German MG at the southern tip of the graveyard (12Y3) could see them, but broke early and had to flee north to the church (the three hex building just north of the graveyard). French Renaults failed their “radio-less” independent move checks and/or fired on distant German targets to no effect.
By turn three, French infantry started creeping up to the graveyard. MGs on the 2nd level of 12 R2 (the eastern high rise) and 12V4 (church overlooking the graveyard) started smacking French squads with rate. This went on for a few turns to gradually whittle down French manpower and confine the eastern force to the board edge woods (19O10) where German harassing fire (OBA) landed, but did little more than enforce desperation morale status. Isolated French tanks kept failing their move checks.
A French tank and infantry platoon made it into the graveyard. A nearby German 8-0 (12V2) successfully placed a satchel charge to brew up the R35 whose billowing smoke provided some cover for the French still closing on the yard. At about the same time, a French half squad among the tombstones spawned a hero who led his tiny force into the church (12V4) where they defeated three times their own number in close combat! The German spotter in 12S5 L2 brought OBA down on its preregistered hex at 12AA1 to smother a French rally point; dozens of frustrated Poilus gave up the fight as their broken squads crumbled to half squads or worse.
Around turn six came a company of behemoth Char B1-bis from the south (16GG1-GG5). The lone Renault around 12FF5 (who had earlier lost his partner to ATG fire and was since hiding behind a building) tried to lead their charge against the German 88mm FLAK on the church-side dirt road at 12V7, but MG fire from 12R2 L2 decapitated the CE commander to stop their stunt cold. Unconcerned, the B1s sailed across the landscape toward the mighty 88. The FLAK gun fired and hit with rate, but it was dud! The 88 fired again to brew up one of the B1s, but lost rate. The five surviving B1s pulled within a few hexes of the gun (12V9-X9 area) and stayed in motion as their only defense against its coming prep fire phase. On a lark, the nearest B1 tried an in-motion, advance fire phase, MA shot at the 88. Of course, the French scored another improbable critical hit to vaporize the 88 and its crew!
Soon after, those French heavies stormed the village firing relentlessly at adjacent Germans to invoke that scenario special rule calling for morale checks even on otherwise fruitless IFT attacks from adjacent tanks. Concealed Germans bobbed and weaved to avoid substantial hits while those unconcealed, and mostly on 2nd level, fired into advancing French infantry to slow them down. A blast of German artillery killed two tanks, one R35 and one B1, just outside the church. The pivotal German 12R2 L2 HMG position broke and fled, but the leader soon returned on his own as a hero. Too bad he twice failed to recover the HMG as the French footmen closed in around him. Still, he did kill a French berserker (like I said, lots of rare events) with same-hex triple point blank fire before those that followed clocked him in close combat. Meanwhile, a German mortar did the French a favor by killing an immobilized B1, had it survived, stuck there on the battlefield, it would have upped the French VP location requirement.
In the end, the French captured 11 of 12 VP locations, just enough to win since they had not exited any B1s, four of six remained functioning on the board.