SaP 9 Schoolhouse Rock
With no relation to educational programming, this one might better be called “M80s in the school yard at recess!” Despite the chaos, I think this firecracker would be most appealing to those who like to deliberate on their counter storage solutions because it’s all how about how the Russians “rack em n stack em” in the three-hex, two-level, stone schoolhouse at board center.
In our game, the Russian 45LL ATG started at ground level in the NE corner of the schoolhouse; given the two fortified locations, one could put it upstairs. 4-4-7s staffed each ground floor location, the eastern two were fortified. Upstairs sat the 4-5-8s with MMG, ATR, and 9-2 leader. One 4-4-7 and the two halfies were sprinkled among debris and rubble on the perimeter.
The Germans split their force in thirds, each led by an AFV, coming from the north, east, and west. Right away, those AFV darted into rubble (and bogged) for fear of the ATG they knew was out there. To foil the Russian OBA (80mm), German infantry kept concealment by assault moving and advancing two hexes per turn via cover (shell holes, debris, fences) for the first three turns.
While Russian infantry held fire to keep concealment, their ATG fired on the Panzer III in wooden rubble five or six hexes east of the schoolhouse. Miss with rate, try again, exceed the APCR number, try again, hit with AP, but no kill and no rate, so the tank survived - at first. Meanwhile, the German Stuh 42 and Panzer IV laid on smoke from the north and west. Russian OBA tried for an unconcealed AFV, but the SR went off-board for more delay.
German infantry eventually tempted the Russians to defensive first fire with little effect but the loss of their own concealment. So, the German MMG and HMG on the west side, led by the now sniper-wounded 9-2, tag teamed with 4-6-7s on the east side to encircle one of the upper-level locations. Russians fled the upper floors soon after as the Germans closed. That Panzer III unbogged, but got hit by the 45LL, firing out of smoke, in the very next hex and suffered a shock that eventually killed it.
Russian OBA pounded the German HMG/MMG combo to no effect but killed the adjacent Stuh 42. Then came German 5-4-8s with DCs. Russian defensive first fire out of smoke missed, so the handbags found their mark to break the Soviet 9-2, 8-0, a squad and crew in the western and NE hexes of the schoolhouse; they routed south, eventually to wooden rubble – things looked grim for the Russians. But the pinned Russian squads who had survived the DC held their own in close combat. In one hex, two German squads opted for hand-to-hand combat against one pinned Russian and lost! Soon after, repositioned Soviet OBA broke other German squads on the eastern doorstep to protect the building from further infiltration. Rocket OBA landed on the NE (ATG) hex of the schoolhouse. It killed two broken German half squads out there in shell holes and drove the still-broken Soviet 9-2 berserk! He convinced the 8-0, squad, and crew to join him in a soon-to-be suicide charge.
But the imminent arrival of Russian reinforcements gave the German pause. With only a few GO squads, one hero, and a tank, all out there in shell holes, to take the fortified schoolhouse from three fanatic Russian squads, one in each ground floor hex, he failed his personal MC and asked for terms.
