Section Leaders:
Fionn Kelly & Madmatt

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German Movies for Turns 10-12

German Commander - Fionn Kelly

German AAR: Turns 10 to 12

Turn 10

Orders Phase:

Everyone is simply ordered to continue doing what they were doing. The recon platoons are ordered to keep contact with the enemy. The reserve infantry platoon are advancing and are ordered to begin dismounting this turn for the assault proper and my tanks are ordered to simply continue pounding the enemy positions.

Action Phase:

This Action Phase was unremarkable except for the loss of three tanks.

The phase began with a Sherman Jumbo 76 achieving LOS on Vosse’s Panther. It’s first shot ricocheted. Vosse’s return penetrated the lower front hull but did not manage to brew up the behemoth facing him. In reply the Jumbo 76 brewed up Vosse’s Panther from a range of only 269 metres.

The Jumbo 76 then made the mistake of advancing  beyond the house it had been hiding behind. This gave Knocke and the other Panther good shots at it. The Sherman Jumbo bounced two shells off the frontal armour of the Panther before being  brewed up nicely by a side hull penetration from Knocke’s 88 L/71.

On the left flank Lummer’s King Tiger continued forth into the jaws of the enemy infantry position. It suffered quite a severe pounding this turn however.

Initially it spotted an enemy T8 reconnaissance car and engaged it.

Unfortunately for Lummer he had failed to spot an enemy tank destroyer which was hull-down on a small hill across the valley from his position. At the instant he fired at the T8 the enemy TD fired at him and a 105mm artillery shell exploded directly beside him.

Lummer destroyed the T8 but his tank became immobilized due to the 105mm shell. Well, the immobilization is unfortunate but at least Lummer is immobilized in the midst of an enemy strongpoint. This means that he will continue being able to use his main gun and machineguns to wreak havoc on the enemy infantry.

As befits his Elite status Lummer takes the time to send 2 shells towards the enemy TD and quickly destroys it. It would appear tyhis TD was an enemy Jackson armed with a 90mm gun. I was lucky to destroy it since that gun is a real threat to my King Tigers and can take them out frontally.

Lastly I’ve taken a picture of Frick’s platoon as it crests the rise directly in front of the wooded hilltop, disembarks from its transport and advances on the enemy position. They’re keeping formation well.

Turn 11

Orders Phase:

The main orders this phase consist of ordering Frick to pass through the remnants of the recon platoon on the hill, ordering Husum to secure the left side of the hill and ordering Wichterig’s men to dismount and race forward with my sole surviving Panther in support in order to drive the counter-attacking enemy Sherman Jumbo 76 and infantry back. The artillery barrage I called on the half-platoon which charged my half-squad on the hillside should be falling this turn. Once that does its work my Battalion HQ unit shall advance and take the survivors prisoner and, hopefully, set my own captured Panzergrenadiers free.

Action Phase:

After the terror of the massive artillery barrages over the past few turns only 3 men from the reconnaissance platoon are still in fighting order. Still, they did run into a company of men supported by masses of artillery so their losses are hardly surprising.

My tank-infantry co-ordination is working very well this game. As Frick’s platoon clears the scattered trees and runs for the nearest foxholes it is closely supported by the StuH42s. Gary must be getting very frustrated by now as I’ve counted at least 3 bazooka hits on Lummer’s King Tiger. All have been hits on the frontal aspect though and thus haven’t done any damage. Unfortunately this firing has pinpointed his bazooka teams for me and they are about to become priority targets for the StuH42s. 

I like to call the picture below “Application of Firepower”.  FOUR StuH42s are firing HE directly at the half-squad in the building in the distance. As soon as Gary’s men show themselves in a building I simply demolish it with DF HE. This is a quick and cheap method of advancing and one I like to employ when I have such a surfeit of firepower as I have this battle.

Husum’s platoon, meanwhile, has advanced up the left side of the hill and is now in position to begin tangling closely with the enemy infantry on the hilltop. I’m holding the two StuH 42s back as I expect there to be some bazookas on the top of the hill and don’t want to rush them into an ambush if I can, at all, avoid it.

The picture to the right  bears particular study. A superficial examination would simply show that Wichterig’s platoon is advancing in support of the company commander. However, a deeper examination will reveal the usage of terrain to provide cover for the infantry movement, hull-down positions for the StuHs, whose refusal of the left flank here provides both insurance against a spoiling counter-attack such as Gary put in a turn or two ago AND suppression against such American units as are still in view.

Turn 12

 Well, the real stand-out of this turn is the fact that the 3 StuH 42s on my left put 8 rounds into the enemy infantry during the turn. The King Tiger exhausts its HE ammunition and one battery of 81mm shells begins firing on the enemy infantry at the end of the turn, with another 81mm battery due to follow next turn.

Add in the fire of the reserve infantry platoon and it is no surprise at all that Gary’s infantry simply can’t mount an effective response. Their bazooka teams are rattled, their MG teams dead and their infantry and HQs pinned by the overwhelming volume of my fire. This is the way to conduct an assault.

Elsewhere very little of any consequence occurs. My StuHs take down another house that enemy units were hiding in whilst my tanks and infantry on the far right continue to maneuvre to the flanks such that they can begin rolling Gary’s position up after turning his flank. This’ll all be over very soon now.