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Hold at all costs…
Last night’s game was a small battle recreating an attack on the outskirts of a village by a depleted Volksgrenadier Company supported by limited armour and heavy mortars. The US defence was a single platoon supporting a battery of two 3″ AT guns and some 81mm mortars, though the US commander did have two artillery requests that would prove helpful…
The German attack started well with the initial defence consisting of AT guns and MMGs. A preparatory bombardment had pinned down the gun covering the road and so the Panther led the attack into the open ground on the US right flank but proved unable to get fire onto any targets.
The initial German attack continued in this manner, the Panther and mortars trying to keep the defenders heads down while the infantry moved up through the woods. As the German second wave arrived, with good dice rolls, almost all the German troops were moving forwards through the woods, screened by supporting tanks, to attack the old school house.
The US defence was limited in effectiveness and their reinforcements, when they arrived (thanks to horrendous series of dice rolls) came at such a low rate it all looked like a foregone conclusion. Soon the Germans began breaking into the first part of the school complex and taking the buildings while the US troops had to pull back, with one AT gun also gone, it’s crew killed by a direct hit from a mortar bomb. It was not all bad though. Consistent mortar fire on the US Pre-Registered Target Point had miraculously succeeded in worrying the Panther crew for most of the attack as near misses and hits glanced off it as it sat stationary in the open field.
But as the US commander finally arrived he made use of his artillery request and with the help of a Despatch Rider, brought down a salvo of 155 guns. These pummelled the Germans moving in the woods and follow up mortar fire saw German troops move out of the woods centre to tray and move on the flanks. As they did so, German units ran into minefields on each flank causing more losses and slowing the attack once more. US fire concentrated on pinning down targets and the German attack slowed.
A last German attack was launched, supported by both tanks, and although initially successful, the eventual arrival of the main body of US infantry allowed them to counterattack the Germans in the school and overwhelm them with gunfire. As they did so the German force broken it’s Battle Rating and withdrew under the cover of its armour, to regroup and try again. The US defence had held but only just. They had a single Battle Rating point remaining and the final German attack had come within a whisker of succeeding!
German troops by my chum Skip, US troops by me!
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